Puppet no more
by darklight96
Summary: "No more! I was blinded and hypnotized by your speeches... Thanks to a few friends, now I know... There is more to life than this... I'm not your puppet anymore!" Killua x oc. May add some Gon x oc Please review (Chapter 8-12 re-written) Sorry if its kinda slow on the romance.
1. 1 Amber Eye Puppet

Chapter 1

Amber Eye Puppet

"What the... Oh no. Please no."

Silent pleas slipped through the child's lips as she cringed in the corner of the dark alleyway. The rain pounded against the child and the shriveled up corpses surrounding her. From time to time, she would sneak a peek of her surroundings in hopes that it was just an illusion, only to be proven wrong by the sight of corpses.

She tightened her grip on the bright red apple in her hand. "I only wanted something to eat..."

The girl buried her head in her arms as she allowed the fruit to slip out of her hand. The fruit continued to roll trough the muddy puddles until it stopped by lightly crashing into someone's shiny black shoe. A large hand reached down to grab it before the owner knelt down in front of the child.

"Little girl." He called softly. The child slowly raised her head out of her arms to see the apple being held out in front of her face. "I believe you dropped this."

Guilt and slight disgust was evident in her face, but she took the fruit anyway as she covered up her true emotions with a smile.

"I saw what you did." He stated. The girl's eyes widened in fear and buried her head in her arms again, hiding the tears running down her cheeks.

"I didn't mean to..." She croaked

"I can take it all away. Do you want that?"

* * *

7 Years Later

A soft sigh escaped from the twelve old's mouth as she ran her fingers through her choppy dark bangs, temporarily sweeping them out of her amber eyes. As her hand was about to drop to her side, she frozed and stared at the cross-shaped tattoo on the back on her hand.

Her neutral expression twisted into a frown before she swiftly covered her hands with a pair of black and red, fingerless gloves.

"Sorry master but... If you can't take this curse away. The only thing I can do about it is learn how to control it." The girl whispered to herself, allowing her short half pony tail hair tousle in the salty sea storm.

"Kid." The girl turned around to face a plump sailor with a crimson nose. "What is your name?"

"Me?" She asked. The sailor nodded and a warm smile spread across her face. "My name is Nozomi."


	2. 2 The First Round

**Disclaimer: None of the HunterxHunter characters belong to me. Only Nozomi.**

* * *

Chapter 2

The First Round

The sound of clapping filled the extravagant dining room. Inside the room a seven year old version of Nozomi stood in the center of a room filled of forevermore silent men and women. Nozomi tore her gaze away from the tattered carcasses at to the young man entering the room with his teammates.

"Well done Nozomi. You did better than I had expected." The young man stated and signaled the girl to come to his side.

Without hesitation, the girl rushed over to the man's side. Flashing the man a small smile that did not meet her lifeless eyes. "Thank you Master."

Her master returned the smile and gently placed his hand on her head, causing her slightly flinch before relaxing into the touch. Meanwhile, her master watched his teammates scanning the corpses until they found their target.

"AHHHHH!"

Everyone snapped their attention to the door to see a woman in her twenties, terror etched in her face and her body was trembling with fear.

"Whoops, there's one left." A blonde male in Nozomi's master's team announced.

Once the words left the man's mouth the survivor broke out into a sprint, running away from the group. Nozomi's master glanced down at the girl beside him.

"Nozomi, you know what to do."

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Look! It's the exit!"

Nozomi snapped out of her daze and returned her attention to her surroundings. The underground passage was still dark but the light of the exit made it visible to let all the remaining applicants to see the long set of stairs before them. Everyone dashed up the stairs to find themselves staring at a marsh.

"The numelle's marsh, nicknamed the crook's nest." The violet-hair examiner, Satotsu, announced. "This is where the second round will stand. You will have to go through here."

"Wow..." Nozomi murmured to herself as she scanned the foggy scenery.

This was her first time seeing the wild before and including the fact that she was not participating in a physical test by herself, she could not help but feel a little excited. Unexpectedly, she felt something crash into her which caused her to fall flat on her face. Normally, she would have caught herself before she fell, but a memory of her master telling her to not reveal her abilities rang through her head.

"Ah! Sorry! Are you okay?" A frantic voice asked

_"This voice sounds too high to be an adult..."_

Keeping that thought in mind, the girl flipped over to see a boy with long, spiky black hair and dressed in green hovering over her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered.

She was about to push herself back up to her feet when she noticed the boy's outstretched hand held out to her. Softly smiling to the gesture, she took his hand and allowed the boy to pull her up.

"My name's Gon, what's yours?" The boy stated as he released her hand.

"I'm Nozomi, nice to meet you."

Just as she finished speaking, another boy around her and Gon's age appeared. He had spiky silver hair and electric blue eyes, but there was something else about him that Nozomi couldn't quite put her finger on. Behind him were two more guys. One was a blonde teenager and the other was a tall man in a blue suit.

"Gon, the round is about to start... Who's this?" The blonde teen asked

"Oh Kurapika! This is Nozomi. Nozomi, this is Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua." Gon introduced.

The five of them were going to continue to talk when a injured man suddenly arrived, announcing that Satotsu wasn't the examiner but actually a monkey-man that lives in the marsh.

"The monkey-men like fresh flesh. They have long thin limbs but overall they are weak. They let themselves get tamed by men. They know how to use our language skillfully, and manage to trick men in the marsh, where the other monsters that get along with them are waiting to capture their prey alive! His purpose is to get rid of all the candidates at one time!" The injured man announced.

However, once he finished his speech, cards were thrown towards both the injured man and the examiner. The injured man was killed immediately by the cards cutting deep into his face, while Satotsu caught the cards thrown at him with ease.

"I see. I see. With this, it's all clear." The magician, Hisoka turned to Satotsu, "He's the real examiner. In fact, examiners are hunters that do this freely at the jury's request. So there's nothing odd about a hunter, even at the second zone, stopping that kind of attack."

_"Well that's nice..." _Nozomi thought sarcastically to Hisoka's actions.

After reprimanding Hisoka, all of the candidates started running after Satotsu when a thick fog shrouded the area. Killua suggested that the three of them should move up closer to the examiner to get away from Hisoka, the magician. Right after Killua's warning, Gon shouted out to Leorio and Kurapika for them to go up to the head, causing an annoyed appearance on his face.

As time passed, the fog grew worse and screams could be heard from the back. Both Gon and Nozomi glanced back, beginning to concern about Leorio and Kurapika. Soon, concern got the best of Gon and he rushed back for the two. Nozomi was about to turn back too when Killua swiftly grasped her wrist.

"Don't. They will be fine." He firmly stated.

Hesitantly, Nozomi nodded and continued run beside him until they reached an open area with a building in the middle. The twelve year old girl quietly told Killua that she would be right back and left before receiving a reply.

The closer she approached to Hisoka, the scent of blood grew stronger.

"You've been lowering the numbers of participants, huh?" The girl whispered

"I allowed a few of them to live." The magician replied and pointed to the right. Following his finger, she saw Kurapika, Gon and Leorio seated in the shade of a tree.

Making sure she hid her look of relief, she walked over to join the three. Little did she know that Killua had been watching her from afar.

"Oi Nozomi, is there anything wrong with my face? Kurapika and Gon said that its normal." Leorio immediately questioned the twelve year old when she arrived to the group.

The girl examined his face and tried not to laugh to the sight of the enormous bump on his face. Luckily for her, before she could answer, Killua arrived and greeted her and Gon with a beam.

After a moment of waiting, the clock struck twelve, all of the applicants gathered around the large doors. The building doors swung open to reveal two new examiners, a gigantic man and a woman with pink hair.

"So, you hungry?" The woman asked the man behind her.

"You bet! I'm starving!" he answered and his large stomach gurgled in agreement.

"Therefore, the theme of the second trial will be cooking!" The woman announced. "We are both fine gourmet cooks! Thus your mission will be to satisfy our appetites by cooking us a meal!"

All of the applicants eyes widened in surprise.

"Cooking?!"

* * *

**I kinda fixed this chapter so it will be more interesting. Hope it worked.**


	3. 3 Stranger or Acquaintance?

Chapter 3

Stranger or Acquaintance?

"Cooking?!" The applicants uttered out in shock.

Most of the applicants complained but after Menchi ,the pink hair woman, yelled at them and said that if they just leave. Immediately, they all fell silent.

"Okay Buhara what is your order?" Menchi questioned

"For me it will be... Pork roast! That's what I like the best!" Buhara stated.

Slowly salivating at his own thoughts as he explained that it could be found in the Biska forest which was located behind the applicants.

The round started when Menchi hit the gong. Everyone rushed out to find the pigs. Gon slid down the small slop and the others followed. Once they landed on the lower level, they caught sight of a herd of gigantic pigs.

"Great Stampers... Uh oh..." Nozomi muttered and noticed the questioning gazes of the others. "They're the fiercest type of pigs on Earth and those who can't run away fast enough get eaten by them."

"They're... Carnivores?!" Leorio exclaimed

Once Leorio shouted the pigs finally noticed of the group and snorted. The five immediately ran the other direction as the herd of pigs ran after them. The other applicants took notice of the pigs as well and started to run as well.

The five split apart so that only one or two pigs would follow them. Unfortunately for Nozomi, she ended up cornered by single pig. Memories of when her master found her filled her head.

_Calm down Nozomi this pig is not like the men you stole the apple from._

She pulled out an ebony dagger and a crimson dagger from her thighs and held it up protectively before her.

* * *

Flashback

"What are these for Master?" Nozomi asked as she admired the two daggers in her hands.

"These are a present for you. With these I will teach you how to fight." He answered. "Since I cannot take your ability away."

"More like curse." Nozomi muttered under her breath.

Her master ignored her and continued, "I will train you so you can join my organization and fight along side with me as my daughter."

Nozomi's eyes lit up to the word "daughter" and a small smile played upon her lips.

"Okay Master!"

* * *

"Nozomi! Their weak spot is the head!" Gon shouted, while beside him Killua was ready to jump in.

The girl snapped out of her daze and quickly slammed the heel drop of the dagger on the pig's forehead. She gazed down at the daggers in her hands and frowned.

_Daughter huh... like that will ever happen._

Little did she know, the two boys were closely examining her facial expression the whole time.

When the three twelve year olds arrived with their prey, many of the other applicants had presented their food to Buhara, who had eaten every single one of them. After eating about seventy Great Stampers, Menchi announced that the first phase was over and only seventy people passed.

"Now the second phase. My order is sushi!" Menchi announced.

Murmurs of confusion swarmed the crowd.

Menchi smirked at the murmurs and brought the applicants into the building. Inside there were hundreds of kitchen counters with a variety of knives and a container of cooked rice prepared for all the applicants. She explained that sushi was a small islands traditional meal and the equipment provided was a hint of how to make the meal. With that, she left the applicants to figure out what to do.

_Sushi... I think I remember a little bit about it, but we're suppose to use salt water-_

"Fish?! Where can we find that in the middle of a forest?!" Leorio yelled out and Kurapika immediately scolded him.

In a flash, all of the applicants ran to the rivers and lakes.

* * *

By the time Nozomi started to prepare her dish, many of the applicants had already presented their food to the female gourmet hunter. However, everyone who had presented their dish had been rejected. She began to chew on her lip and focused on descaling the fish. Meanwhile, Kurapika observed with interest.

"What's up?" She asked as she finished removing the scales.

"Nothing, but... What are you doing?"

The girl blinked in confusion when she noticed Gon and Killua slowly approaching her counter. A giggle escaped her lips before she made her dish, explaining every step. Just as she finished, applicant number 294 who claims that he is a ninja yelled at Menchi, explaining how the food was made.

After his outburst he realized his mistake and slapped his hand over his mouth, but it was already too late. All of the applicants rushed back to their counters. Meanwhile, Nozomi took the chance while the woman was scolding the applicant to line up behind the bald man.

"That's what you get for making me angry! I'm even hungrier now!" The woman finished as the applicant walked off in shame. "Next!"

All of the applicants were now surrounding the woman, shoving their dish into her face while arguing about who is next. Menchi ate a few dishes before she announced that she was full.

"Second phase of the second trial is now over! Everyone failed!"

The girl stared at the gourmet hunter, gritting her teeth, along with her friends. While the other applicants protested. Applicant number 255 who was extremely angered by Menchi tried to hit her, but he was sent flying by Buhara.

"Buhara... I don't recall asking for your help." Menchi muttered

"Maybe. But if I didn't, you'd have killed him, wouldn't you?" Buhara answered

Admiration filled Nozomi's eyes when she spotted the knives that Menchi was holding. The woman walked to the front, where number 255 lay, while she explained that even all types of hunters needed to have fighting skills.

"That's one explanation! But does it justify such severity?" a voice blared from above.

Everyone gazed up to see an enormous airship with the hunter's confederation sign. Soon enough, an old man jumped down from the ship and started to walk towards Menchi.

"Netero-san, president of the commity. The man responsible for the trials." Menchi stated, her form stiffened.

_Netero... Why does that name sound so familiar? _The twelve year old thought as her eyes followed the chairman.

"I'm only an executor and I'm here to solve this kind of problem."

Netero specified to the younger hunter about her mistakes and told her to learn from her mistakes. He then told her to pick an easier menu and as compensation, she would have to take the test as well. With a thankful smile, Menchi decided her new dish and asked the chairman to bring everyone to the top of a mountain what was split in half.

"This is where we will get the tarantula-eagle eggs." Menchi stated, pointing down the edge of the cliff.

The applicants stared at her in disbelief. Menchi, on the other hand, dove down from the cliff as she explained what to do. She then climbed up with a spotted egg in her hands.

"Ah cool!" Killua exclaimed

"Yeah! I was expecting something more like that!" Gon added.

Nozomi turned to the two boys with a competitive gleam in her eyes, "Race you guys. Whoever gets back up here wins."

The two boys smirked and ran jumped of the edge, followed by Nozomi, Kurapika and Leorio. Soon after, more applicants jumped off the edge as well. Some were not able to grab the lines in time and fell into the river. While the others were able to execute Menchi's instructions successfully.

The second round had ended and the forty three applicants that remained happily entered the airship. As Nozomi stepped into the ship after the two boys she snuck a peek chairman once more, feeling a dull pain in the back of her head.

_Netero-san... Who are you?_

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. Sorry that it is going pretty slow, but I promise later on it will be a lot more interesting.**

**Please review and thanks for reading.**


	4. 4 Families

Chapter 4

Families

"Nozomi... Hey... NOZOMI!"

The twelve year old flinched and glanced over at the two boys sitting beside her. Their attention turned away from the outside scenery.

"What's up?" she asked

"You were zoning out."Gon deadpanned. "Anyway, I was asking if you have any parents."

"Oh..." Nozomi trailed off, her attention back to the sparkling scenery. "I guess I have a father..."

"Guess?" Killua repeated.

The girl nodded and a small sad smile spread upon her lips. "Even though he calls me his daughter I feel like... I'm not sure. Like a toy?"

She looked back at the two boys. Confusion was etched into Gon's innocent face, while Killua's expression seemed like he could slightly relate to her feelings. Seeing their expressions, Nozomi told them not to worry about it, wearing a grin on her face. Gon returned the smile then asked Killua the same question.

"Yes. Of course." He answered, expression never changing.

"What do they do?" Gon continued to ask.

"Assassins." Killua answered

"Both of them?"

Killua was silent for a moment, staring at Gon and Nozomi's faces before bursting out laughing. Saying it was his first time seeing such a serious reaction saying his answer.

"But you were telling the truth, right?" Nozomi questioned and Gon nodded in agreement.

"... You guys are really strange... You can never tell if you're serious or if you're joking." Killua quietly muttered before making his voice audible again. "At my place, the main activity is assassination. For everyone. And I'm not telling you how much pressure my family puts on me... But I don't like the idea of others deciding what I'll do with my life. When I told them "I'll decide my own future by myself!" They all got mad... My mother started crying, telling me I had a gift for being an assassin."

At that point, Gon and Nozomi had a sweat drop running down their face as they continued to listen to Killua's ranting.

"To make a long story short, I beat up my mom and dad and ran away! They probably haven't healed up yet! If I become a hunter, the first think I'll do is arrest all of my family! I'm certain to get a good reward!"

The three of them continued to talk as they admired the scenery. Little did they know, Netero was listening to their conversation ever since Gon asked about Nozomi's parents.

Suddenly, a warning flooded their bodies. The three kids jumped off their seat and looked at the corner where Netero was standing, only to find no one.

"What's happening?" The three glanced back to see the chairman walking up to them from the other direction.

"Netero-san, didn't you have the sensation somebody was closing in from there?" Gon asked, pointing towards the other direction and the elderly man merely shook his head.

"You're really fast for your age." Killua stated, narrowing his eyes on Netero.

"You think? I was just walking, without haste."

Sparks could be seen from their glares. Nozomi started to feel uneasy by the heavy tension while Gon was looking at the two, oblivious to what was going on. Netero abruptly asked the three of them about their thought on the trials. The green clad boy exclaimed that is was fun and unexpected while the silver hair boy said that he expected it to be harder and he was disappointed.

"What do you think about the trials?" Netero asked the girl who was silent during the whole conversation, snapping her out of thoughts.

"Oh! I thought that it was interesting. I had never participated in anything with people before, usually I did them alone." she quickly explained.

Netero quirked his brow to the child's answer. However, before he could ask anything else Killua interrupted.

"Will we finally have fun during the next tests?"

"Well... You'll see." the chairman responded.

In an instant, Killua swung an arm around Gon's shoulder and grabbed Nozomi's hand, bringing the two away from the chairman.

"Wait. Don't you want to play a gam with me? If you win... I'll give you the hunter title."

* * *

It was already the next day, the three had thrown their jackets and over-shirt aside to not overheat themselves. The three of them did everything they could to grab the single striped ball from the elderly man's hands but no matter what they did they were never able to touch the ball.

"That's it for me! I give up." Killua announced as he picked up his shirt.

"Why? We've still got time left! We almost got him!" Gon happily exclaimed.

Killua glanced back at the twelve year old boy, explaining that Netero didn't even use his right hand and left foot during the whole time they were trying to get the ball. He then added that even in a whole year the three of them would not be able to get the ball. Gon snapped his gaze back to the chairman to see him balancing on his right foot and holding the ball in his left hand.

"I've been had. I thought I'd hid it well, though..." Netero chuckled.

"Argh! That old bag is getting on my nerves!" Killua grumbled before heading to the door. "Let's go Gon, Nozomi."

"I'm gonna try a little more." Gon stated

Killua stared at the boy before exclaiming that he would never be able to get the ball. But Gon simply answered that he is going to try to make the chairman to use his right hand, instead of getting the ball.

"Oh, really... Then what about you?" Killua turned to Nozomi.

"I'm going to try too."

The twelve year old boy sighed and left the room. Even though his appearance seemed to be calm Nozomi could not help but feel that he was struggling to hold down his true feelings.

After a moment of thinking, Nozomi made an excuse of needing to use the bathroom and left the room with a stress ball and a bar of chocolate hidden in her pocket.

"Hey! Killua..." The girl trailed off when she saw the two sliced up bodies on the floor and the dark aura around the silver hair boy. "These..."

"What? Are you afraid of me now?" Killua growled.

The girl shook her head and calmly walked up to the boy, placing the candy and stress ball into his hands.

"These help me calm down. I hope it will do the same for you." She flashed a quick smile and ran back to the others, leaving Killua dumbfounded.

* * *

Nozomi returned to the room to find Netero jumping over her friend, forcing him to crash into the wall. While the chairman was distracted, the girl slipped out of her black combat boots and launched herself onto the elderly man's back, grabbing onto the ball in his hands. With one swift movement, Netero thrust his arm towards the floor, sending Nozomi into a face plant but her hands still held onto the ball.

On the other hand, Gon turned back to look at the chairman with a bright grin spread across his face.

"You used your right hand, right?"

"Eh... Yes..."

"Hurray! I won!" Gon shouted before passing out.

Meanwhile, Nozomi raised her head up from the ground to look at Netero. He sweat dropped when he saw the happy looks on the two kids' faces, despite their injuries. The twelve year old girl gave a tug on the ball, trying to get it free from the chairman's hold but found that is was futile.

"Ah... It looks like I lost. But at least I touched the ball." she released her hold and sat up.

Netero released a chuckle as he made a phone call to the pilot, requesting to drive a bit slower. Once he was finished, glanced back at the girl to see her trying to carry Gon and their belongings at the same time.

"Nozomi...She's just like her mother." the chairman whispered to himself. He pulled a silver bracelet with a oval shaped locket out from his pocket. "Wait!"

The girl glanced at Netero to see him lifting the boy off of her back. She murmured her thanks and opened the door for the man. However, instead of leaving the room he buckled the bracelet onto her left wrist.

"Netero-san?" The girl began, giving the chairman a confused look.

The elderly man smiled, "Your mother entrusted me with this. She told me to give it to you when you are older."

Nozomi's eyes widened to his words.

"You know my mother? Do you know if she is still alive?"

"Your mother is..."


	5. 5 Fighting with Ones's Self

**Micha'ela: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I hate them too and I have no idea why I end some of my chapters like that. Anyway, thanks for the review and I will post the next chapter as soon as possible. Thanks again. XD**

* * *

Chapter 5

Fighting with One's Self

At nine o' clock precisely, the applicants arrived at the top of a tall tower for the third trial. The tower was called the Trick Tower. Netero's assistant explained to everyone that they had to get to the bottom of the tower, alive, within a 72 hour time period. One of the applicants began to climb down side as the three twelve year olds watched.

"That guy is doomed..." Nozomi muttered.

As said, a flock of gigantic birds flew towards the applicant and was quickly eaten up.

"Let's find a way down." Killua suggested.

Gon and Nozomi nodded and spread out. The girl scanned the other applicants to see them tapping the ground. She followed their lead.

"Leorio! Nozomi! Kurapika!"

The girl turned to see Gon waving at Leorio and Kurapika while Killua was jerked his head, signaling her to come. Receiving the message, she made her way over to the boys. However, before she could meet them the floor opened up beneath her. A small squeak escaped her lips as she fell. Hearing the noise, Gon and Killua gazed over to see nothing but a silver bracelet sparkling beneath the sun.

Killua walked over to where the bracelet lay and picked it up.

"What happened to Nozomi?" Kurapika asked when the boy returned to the group.

"The idiot fell into a hidden door." He answered, his gaze was locked onto the bracelet in his hand. After a few minutes, he tucked the bracelet into his pocket. "Let's pick our doors."

Meanwhile with Nozomi...

The girl slid down the slanted hole, about to reach the exit when she spotted the new room. Scattered across the room were tall stone posts, just big enough to stand on. But filling the spaces in between were sharp stone needles. There were skeletons, rotting corpses and fresh corpses in the sea of needles. As Nozomi flew out of the hole, she found herself heading straight towards the side of the closest post. She quickly withdrew her daggers from their sheaths and stabbed them into the stone. Luckily the stone was soft enough for her weapons to penetrate.

Without a second thought, the girl climbed to the very top of the post and let out a loud sigh in relief.

"That was a close one..." she murmured as she took another glance at the corpses and needles.

Tearing away her attention, she noticed the watch on the table beside her. The voice of the examiner echoed through the room, telling her if she wanted start the challenge she must put on the watch. Nodding, she went to reach for the watch but stopped when she spotted her empty wrist.

_Where's the bracelet?!_

* * *

Before the Third Round

"Your mother is... missing." Netero sadly stated. "She disappeared right after she gave me that bracelet."

"Oh... Then can you at least tell me her name? Maybe I can find her?" Nozomi asked with pleading eyes.

The chairman shook his head, "I'm sorry but I can't. Your mother asked me to not tell anyone about her, especially her daughter."

He peered down at the child who had fallen silent, obvious that she was in deep thought about her mother's actions. Netero sighed softly and placed his hand on her head.

"There is a possibility that your bracelet will lead you to your mother and..." He stopped and knelt down just enough to meet the twelve year old's amber eyes. "If you need anything you can always contact your godfather."

"My godfather? Who?" the girl asked.

In response, Netero removed his hand from the girl's head and pointed at himself.

* * *

_Crap! That was the only thing that can help me find my mother! _The twelve year old began to chew her lip as she thought. At last she sighed and buckled the watch on her wrist. _There's nothing I can do now... I just hope I can ask Netero-san to bring me back here to look for it..._

The table sunk into the floor. Then, an entrance was revealed on the wall right across from her. Nozomi took a deep breath before leaping from post to post until she reached the entrance. There was a choice to go either left or right. Her fingers lingered over the two buttons on the watch before she decided on picking right. The gate for the right side path opened and she followed the path until she reached the next room.

Inside the next room, it was filled with mirrors, making a path to a variety of paths. Also there was a sweet smell in the room.

_This smell... I shouldn't inhale this._

With that thought, she used her sleeve to cover up her nose and mouth as she walked through the paths.

The longer she walked the more voices she heard. The voices of the starving children she used to steal with. All of them were crying and asking why didn't she die with them. Meanwhile, she reminded herself that it was the sweet aroma causing this.

After half an hour had passed, she saw her reflections turn into the starving children and dried up corpses of the people whose lives she stole. All of them asking her why she didn't die with them or why did she kill them.

_Shut up... Shut up. _

Nozomi quickened her pace, moving her hand to her ears in attempt to block out the voices. Unfortunately, the voices started to grow louder and louder, echoing in the room.

"SHUT UP!" She finally screamed.

The mirrors shattered into a million pieces, making the dull floor seem like it had just been dusted with silver glitter.

Her panting started to slow down as she scanned the floor. _Is it ov-_

"Over? Ha! No."

The twelve year old snapped her attention in the voice's direction to see herself in a slightly cracked mirror on the wall, but instead of her black clothing, she was in rags with bangs hiding her eyes.

Nozomi narrowed her eyes on the mirror and cautiously approached it.

"Who are you?"

"What? You don't even know how we look like?" The reflection paused. She then swept the hair out of her eyes. "Well, what we will look like."

To her surprise the reflection did not hold her usual amber colored eyes, instead they were glowing white. On her forehead there was a tattoo of what she had always dreamed of receiving, the sign that would make her Master finally call her "daughter."

"This your future. Our future!" the reflection cheered. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"...No..." Nozomi muttered, causing the reflection's eyes to widen.

"What? Don't you want to be known as Master's daughter? A part of a family? Instead of being just plain old Nozomi, we could be called Nozomi Lu-"

"No! I have a family! I have a mother! Master is just using me! My mother still wants me... Right?"

A sneer spread across the white eye reflections face to the sight of the original's uncertainty.

"Aw~ And I thought that you would have grown up a lot by now." The reflection teased, earning a half-hearted glare from the original. "Don't you get it? If our mother wanted us then why were we one of those starving, homeless orphans in the first place? Master wants us! Even if you want to leave, he is still controlling us with the strings that are attached to us."

_Strings? _The girl thought and peered down at her arms to see thin strings tied onto her joints.

"We are puppets who cannot break free from what holds us down." The reflection stated, while the original was trembling from anger. "It's pointless. Just accept our fate."

Just as she finished, Nozomi's fist went crashing through the mirror, causing the glass to fall to the ground.

"I had enough. I don't have to be tied down anymore." She grumbled as she withdrew her bloodied fist from the newly created exit. Suddenly, the face of a young silver hair boy popped up in her head. "Killua doesn't want to be an assassin and he had shown me that by running away and entering this exam. If he can do it, I can do it too."

The girl walked down the set of stairs and into the next room. Unbeknownst to the child, her eyes had turned white and a deadly smirk crept upon her lips.

Once entering the next room, it seems that there were about twenty prisoners waiting for her arrival. Most of the prisoners grumbled to the sight of a twelve year old girl, complaining that it was no fun. While the others were silent as they waited for their cuffs to free their wrists.

When their cuffs hit the ground the prisoners took off their hoods to reveal their true appearances.

"Alright number 150. You will have to choose between two options." The examiner announced. "Press X if you would let the opponents to decide what your challenge will be or O to choose your own challenge and pick your opponent."

Nozomi scanned the crowd, seeing the bloodlust in their eyes as her fingers gently traced the buttons on the watch. Finally making her decision, she let out a short chuckle and pressed a button.

"You chose X. To let your opponents to decide."

Menacing laughter filled the room, while the twelve year old remained silent. When the laughter calmed down a buff man stepped forward.

"We will have a fun fight to the death. And since you are just a child, we'll let you fight all of us one by one." He announced, a confident smirk adorn on her face.

"That's nice but it's fine. I don't want to have you all hold back. It'll be better if everyone joined the fun."

With that, the girl charged at the crowd. Slicing and stabbing every single one of the prisoners until they wouldn't move anymore.

"I would have used my curse but that will just ruin the fun." She said to the bodies as she returned her daggers to their sheaths. Soon, the color returned to her eyes placed immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. "Damn it... I lost control again."

The exit was revealed and she reluctantly walked down another flight of stairs.

"Third round. Third to arrive: #150, Nozomi. Time used 7 hours and 53 minutes." A voice announced as she stepped into the room.

In the middle of the room were Hisoka and his partner number 301, a man with pins all over his body. Hisoka turned to the girl and smiled.

"Oh, I see one of my toys had just arrived."


	6. Confusion and the magician (Re-written)

Chapter 6

Confusion and the Magician

Nozomi sat near Hisoka and number 301, whose name she found out was Gitarakuru, as the number of passing applicants slowly increased. Her thumb rubbing against her bare wrist as she anxiously waited for her friends to show up. She continued to wait patiently, watching Hisoka build a house of cards to help distract her from the anxiety that was slowly eating her away.

She glanced up to the sound of a door opening to see a man stumble out, barely alive. Once he stepped into the room he passed out. The Amori brothers went over to check if he was okay, but unfortunetly he was already dead. Sighing, she returned her attention back to the cards.

"One minute left." the speaker announced.

Right after the announcement, one more door opened and to the girl's surprise, three people appeared.

"Gon, Killua and Kurapika." She sighed in relief and got up to her feet, about to join them.

Leorio and Tonpa came out a few seconds after, praising Gon for his idea. Soon, an announcement was made, declaring that the third trial was over and that the door to the outside was open.

"You guys made it." Nozomi smiled as she walked towards the exit with the group.

"Yeah." Gon turned to look at the girl with a beam, but his smile dropped. "What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?"

Gon's comment caught the attention of the others and all of them turned to see the girl coated in blood.

"Um... I fell into an illusion trap and some stuff happened... But the only place I'm injured is my hand." She answered, waving the hand with shards of glass still stuck in it.

Before the others could continue questioning her, the examiner of the third round began to speak.

"Congratulations to all of you for exiting the only have two more trials left: the fourth trial and the final."

"Two rounds left." A few of the applicants sighed with relief, yet disappointed that the exam wasn't over yet.

"The fourth round will take place on Zebiru's island. Well lets hurry." With a snap of his fingers, a box on a trolley was brought to the front by his assistant. "You will need to do a lottery."

Most of the applicant murmured among themselves, confused by the examiner. It was until one person asked the examiner why they would have to participate in a lottery.

"This lottery will allow us to determine the hunters and the prey." The examiner explained. "Inside the box there are 25 numbered cards. These numbers are just the same as the ones that were given to you in the beginning of the competition. Well, pick a card in the order you arrived at the tower's bottom."

As he finished his explanation, Hisoka stepped up to the box. Next is was Gitarakuru, then Nozomi. In her head she prayed that her target wouldn't be one of her friends and the one who would be hunting her would be Hisoka or Gitarakuru. When everyone had a target, the examiner explained that their target's number and their own number were worth 3 points, while the other tags were worth 1 point. In total, an applicant needs 6 points to pass the fourth trial.

After the examiner finished his explanations, he lead all of the applicants onto a boat which would lead them to their next destination. Nozomi was about to walk off when she boarded the ship, but a pair of hands halted her movements. Peering up, she saw Leorio and Kurapika looking down at her with a serious expression.

"Let me treat your hand and you better not struggle, got it?" Leorio ordered and Nozomi sweat dropped.

* * *

The twelve year old girl sat in between Gon and Killua after getting her hand patched up. Her focus was on the back of her wrapped up hands as she remembered Kurapika's look as if he recognized the tattoo's on her hand, but she didn't know whether she should worry or not.

"So, which number did you two pick?" Killua asked.

"What about you?" Gon countered but Killua simply replied that it was a secret, ending with a glaring competition.

"How about we count up to three, and we show our targets?" Nozomi suggested, trying to ease the tension.

The boys nodded in agreement. Then, at the count of three they all put out their cards for one another to see. Once seeing Gon's number the other two twelve year olds looked at him in shock.

"Wow that... sucks." Nozomi muttered

"You're not very luck at lottery!" Killua stated and Gon sadly agreed.

He then picked up Nozomi and Killua's target numbers.

"Number 198 and number 199, whose number is that?"

The two shrugged and the boys started to talk. While they were conversing, Nozomi felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier until she could not keep them open anymore. Allowing herself to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Um..." a ten year old Nozomi started as she walked beside the young man who raised her.

"What is it, Nozomi?" He asked, without taking a glance at the dark hair girl.

The girl's eyes were cast towards the rugged pavement as she tugged on her black gloves for some sort of comfort.

"You know the story you told me about... About the kurta clan..." Her master turned her head to look at the girl as she continued speaking. "... Do you believe that it's right to steal their eyes? Just because people want their scarlet eyes?"

The man narrowed his eyes on the girl before sighing out loud, ruffling the child's hair.

"You still have a lot to learn."

Nozomi wanted to ask about what he meant, but she suddenly felt something flying towards her. By instincts, she used her daggers to redirect the object before looking in the direction of the attacker.

It was there she met a certain bloodthirsty magician sitting on several slabs of rocks, along with ten or eleven others.

"What an interesting toy." The magician smirked, licking his lips.

Nozomi felt her temperature drop dramatically, but she did her best to hide her fear.

* * *

A voice and some rocking of the twelve year old's shoulders made her stir and her grasp on the arm beside her tightened. Slowly, her eye fluttered open to see Gon holding onto her shoulders.

"Hey Gon... Wait... What am I holding?" Nozomi cautiously followed the arm in her hands to see a silver hair boy with a face as red as a tomato. "Ah! I'm sorry Killua!"

The girl shot up to her feet and scratched the back of her head, a soft pink color highlighted her cheeks.

"Idiot..." He muttered and walked off with his hand buried deep in his pockets.

Nozomi was about to drop her hand down back to her side when she noticed the slight weight difference on her wrist. Gazing down, her body froze and joy filled her face.

"You're back!" She exclaimed as she rubbed it against her cheek.

"Oh! That was yours?" Gon asked and Nozomi nodded. "Killua was holding it in his hands for days. He never let go of it."

_He did that?... _She stared at the loose jewelry on her wrist before breaking out into a bright smile. _How sweet._

"Come on Nozomi. The fourth round is about to start!" Gon stated as he grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her to the front of the ship.

When the two arrived at the front, a woman explained that their limit on the island is one week and once they have collected 6 points worth of tags they must return to the ship. When the woman announced that the first applicant who reached the bottom should leave first, Hisoka entered the forest. Then she told the remaining applicants that each person were given two minutes of time before letting the next person leave.

"Third person!" The woman called.

"Good luck." Nozomi whispered to Gon before running into the forest.

Killua looked at his green clad friend. A small frown was worn on his face as her felt a little annoyed that Nozomi seemed more interested in Gon than him.

* * *

A full day had passed and during the whole time Nozomi was hidden within the trees, trying to keep an eye out for her prey and the person who has her as a target. Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone approaching but she decided to pretend to be oblivious until the person struck.

When the person made their move, Nozomi immediately spun around to defend herself from the attacker. However, before she had the chance to even turn around she found herself pinned against the cold ground. She grunted in pain and focused her eyes on her attacker then gasped.

"H-Hisoka?!"


	7. Fourth Round and Undecided Decisions

Chapter 7

Fourth Round and Undecided Decisions

Nozomi was silent against the moist grass while a large hand tightened against her throat. Her hands tried to reach for her blades on her thighs but the man hovering over her blocked it with his legs. The two of them remained on the ground in silence with crimson butterflies flocking over to their wounds. The girl's gaze trailed from his face to the side, searching for any sign of escape. Her actions did not go unnoticed by the man.

"You haven't changed a bit." Hisoka commented with a smirk.

"O-oh really?" The girl responded, trying to sound as calm as possible.

A hum of amusement came from the man.

"You still have trouble controlling your emotions and you are very loyal to your friends. But..." He moved his hand from the girl's neck and pinched her cheek. "I'm surprised that you didn't tell your 'father' that you were coming here."

The twelve year old girl grew pale and cold to the thought of her Master finding out that she came to take the exam without his authorization. Hisoka's smirk widened as he got up from his crouching position and casually walked away, leaving the child lying on the grass, frozen.

Despite the few hours that had passed, the girl still remained flat on her back. Her trembling hand covering her mouth as she tried to ease her rapid breathing pattern. Suddenly, she heard the soft sound of foot steps approaching.

_Please don't come any closer... _She pleaded in her head and closed her eyes, but of course the person kept creeping closer.

When the person was only a foot away from her body, Nozomi lunged at the person. Her eyes were glowing white and her mask of fear transformed into a menacing sneer at the sight of fear of the man beneath her.

"W-What on Earth are you?" Applicant number 34, Ryu questioned.

The girl released a chuckle as her arm was slowly lifted up into the air. However, before she could do anything else she gasped and jumped off the man. Her hands covering her face as she murmured an apology and bolted away. When she was out of the man's sight, Nozomi slumped down against a tree and dug through her pockets for any of her relaxing remedies, only to find nothing.

* * *

Early the next day, Nozomi had finally calmed down and strolled through the forest in search for her target. It would have been faster for her to track down her target if she was fully focused on finding him, but she kept tormenting with the reminders of her actions and thoughts of her Master's reaction when she returns.

"Hey Nozomi!"

The twelve year old girl spun around to see her silver hair friend approaching. She merely greeted the boy with a nod and a smile.

"Did you find your target yet?" She asked and he shook his head. "Then, do you want to be partners?"

He simply shrugged and continued walking up ahead. The girl tilted her head in confusion to his actions, but decided to sweep the thought aside and caught up with him, walking in silence.

After some time of walking, they sensed that Imori was following them and grew tired of waiting for him to make the first move. Killua called back to him from where the two stopped, telling to attack already or else he would take the first move. Imori was still silent, so Killua decided to go towards his hiding spot. While Nozomi stood back and watched.

"Umori! Amori!" Imori exclaimed in relief to the sight of his brothers appearing behind him.

"It took me so long to get my target." Amori stated.

"I'm sure you're done right?" Umori asked.

When the two elder brothers looked behind Imori they saw Killua standing before them. From afar, Nozomi heard the two older brothers scolding the youngest, stating that he was making a mockery out of the trio. She took this chance to go around the tree that the brothers and Killua were at to take them from behind.

"Because you guys react this way, I don't have any other choice. I'm gonna do it." Imori said.

The youngest brother stepped forward and threatened Killua. However, the twelve year old only responded by calling him an idiot. With that, Imori gave a harsh kick into Killua's gut, sending the boy to fall flat on his back.

"Hey! I warned you." Imori smirked before calling back to his brothers, notifying them that he didn't miss.

Killua was silent for a moment before he hopped back onto his feet with ease and glanced at the newly claimed tag in his hand.

"Number 198? This is Nozomi's target. Perhaps Number 199 is one of you two... What do you think Nozomi?"

The two brother's got the hint that they were messing with no ordinary kid and tried to spread out. But before they could even move, Nozomi kicked the back of their knees and pressed her daggers against their throats.

"Most likely." the girl finally replied, then turned to the two brothers. "If you don't want to die now, I suggest you give your tags to Killua."

They grumbled and tossed their tags over to the silver hair boy. Once Killua caught the tags, Nozomi released the two men and walked over to the boy. Killua handed the dark hair girl her target number.

"What are you going to do with that one?" She asked, pointing at Amori's tag.

A small, yet mischievous smirk crept upon the twelve year old boy's lips before he threw it in the air.

"You guys have five days to find it."

With that, he vanished in thin air. Nozomi sighed at the boy's actions as she went deeper into the forest, without looking back at the trio to prevent her from returning the tag.

_I'm sorry but I must pass this test._

* * *

"Nozomi."

Inside the Hunter Confederation Comity airship, the twelve year old turned from the widow to see a blonde teenager approaching. She waved to him from where she was seated and invited him take a seat beside her.

"Did you talk to Gon?" she asked after a moment of silence.

He nodded, "He's okay now..."

Nozomi nodded and tried to keep up the conversation with the teen, asking him about his thoughts on why the applicants were being called up for a "conversation" and more. The two of them happily conversed for awhile until Nozomi abruptly asked the teen a question.

"What are you going to do after this if you pass the final round?"

Kurapika fell silent and his gaze was fixed on the twelve year old's bandaged hand. A mixture of anger, uncertainty, guilt, and betrayal flooded his brown eyes. His mouth slowly opened as if he was about to say something but a call for Nozomi interrupted.

"Oh... I have to go." She started to walk away, but she turned back to look at the teen. "Sorry Kurapika. I didn't mean to make you feel... Uncomfortable."

The teen's eyes widened for a short moment before he broke out into a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you when you are done."

* * *

Inside the reception room, the chair man was seated behind a short table and warmly smiled at the girl who just arrived. He told the girl to take a seat, which she complied and spotted the pictures of the other applicants laid out before her.

"Is this the last round?" Nozomi asked in confusion as she scanned the photos.

"No, but I wouldn't say that there's no relation... Anyway, I'd like to ask you some questions." The girl nodded. So, Netero continued. "Why do you want to be a hunter?"

The twelve year old's eyes casted down to her hands, in thought.

"At first, I wanted to be a hunter so I can learn to control... a certain ability... and I wanted to be more useful for... someone..." She answered, carefully choosing her words. "But now... I think want find my mother or maybe... find out what my point in life is?"

Netero nodded, "Among the nine other applicants, which one retains the most of your attention?"

"Um... #99, #405, #404... and #44." She replied

"Hm... Well, last question. Among the nine other applicants, who do you want to fight against the least?"

"Who I don't want to fight? Mostly these four." She stated as she pointed out Killua, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio's photos. "And I don't really want to fight #301 because I'll most likely die. But out of all of them, I don't want to fight #44 as well since we have some history together... I prefer to just leave it as that."

"Are you friends with them?" Netero asked, picking up the four photos that the girl pointed out.

A hint of pink dusted her cheeks as she looked away to avoid the chairman's gaze.

"I-I guess so."

Netero chuckled and dismissed the twelve year old. She bobbed her head and left the room. Right as she left the room, she slumped against a nearby wall with a loud sigh.

"Why I want to be a hunter, huh..." Nozomi slowly unwrapped her hand to see the purple, cross-shaped tattoo. "Should I stay with you master... or go on my own?"


	8. Final Round(rewritten)

Chapter 8

Final Round

The ten remaining applicants were brought to a hotel owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee. The hotel was big and surrounded by a lush garden. When the chairman brought everyone into a wide empty room, the chairman announced that once they had finished the final round, they are free to roam. A man in a tuxedo pushed a board that was covered with a white sheet next to the chairman.

"The last trial will be in the form of one-on-one duels." Netero stated, "The groups are of the following..."

With that, the chairman pulled the sheet off to reveal the battle chart.

"So, the last one standing passes?" Leorio asked

"No. One victory and you pass the exam." Netero answered. "In other words. In this tournament, winners quit the game one by one. The principle of the pyramid is to designate the loser, not the winner. Do you understand?"

"So there will only be one eliminated?" Hanzo questioned and the chairman nodded.

Netero continued on by answering Bodoro's question about why the brackets were not even, since it was based off of their performance during the entire exam. Killua asked him to explain how he scored the applicants, but the chairman refused to tell him since it was a secret. Instead the chairman explained that the first basis of the evaluation were based on three essential points: strength, mind, and charisma.

While the chairman was stating the rules, Nozomi studied the battle chart again.

"I have to fight Pokkle-san. If I lose I have to fight either Hanzo-san or Gon and if I lose again I would have to fight Killua... I have to beat Pokkle-san." She muttered to herself.

The exam soon started with Gon and Hanzo. The entire match angered Nozomi immensely, especially when Honzo broke Gon's arm due to the boy's stubbornness of not admitting defeat. The girl's fists clenched tightly at her sides as she allowed her dark bangs to shade her eyes, attempting to prevent the others to see her irises flickering in a different color.

By the time the first battle ended, Nozomi, Hisoka, and several other applicants were trying to stifle their laughter before Hanzo knocked Gon out with a punch. To most people, it was the only way to have the twelve year old to argue about how he wanted to win in a different way. Gon was then brought to a waiting room before the next match was announced. Nozomi sighed as she stepped forward with Pokkle for their battle.

"This is going to be easy." Pokkle stated, his body was radiating with confidence.

"Well either way, please don't go easy on me." The twelve year old said nonchalantly, ready to fight.

With that, Pokkle started his attack by shooting an arrow at her. She dodged it in the last minute and charged at male, avoiding every single arrow shot at her. As she tried to close the distance between them, Pokkle kept moving back and increased his speed on shooting. His efforts helped maintain their distance apart for a few minutes until the girl began to move again. Pokkle muttered a few frustrated words under his breath before a small gleam appeared in his eyes. He started to run around the girl, keeping her in the middle as his speed increased.

_I have a bad feeling about this..._

Nozomi's eyes narrowed on Pokkle as her hands went down to grab her daggers, only to feel nothing but her shorts.

_Huh?_ She gaze down to see that her sheaths were empty. _I'm positive that I had them while Gon was fighting..._

"Look out!"

The twelve year old's head snapped up to the sound of Leorio and Kurapika's voice when she spotted a dozen arrows flying straight at her. She clenched her eyes shut and made an X with her arms in attempt to block the arrows from hitting any vital areas. Most of the arrows pierced her arms while the rest grazed her shoulders and cheek. Soon her arms flopped down to her sides and her head drooped down as well. Blood slowly leaking out from her wounds.

"Do you give up now?" Pokkle asked.

Nozomi remained quiet and did not move a muscle. Suddenly, a wide malicious grin spread across her face and she lunged at Pokkle, knocking him to the ground. One hand pinned his wrist above his head while his other hand was held in front of his face, allowing him to only see his palm and the left side of the twelve year old's face.

"Why don't you give up instead or else..." Her eyes began to glow white. "I might have to activate something that I cannot control."

"A-Alright! I give up."

The girl sighed, whispering an apology as she got off Pokkle and slowly returned to the side lines, her hand covering her face. She ignored the concerned looks of her friends and allowed her feet to carry her over to Hisoka.

"Can I have them back now, please?" She asked, holding her hand out expectantly.

Just as she finished, the referee announced the next match.

"The third match: Hisoka verses Kurapika!"

Hisoka chuckled and with a flick of his wrist her daggers appeared in his hands, "Too bad. I wanted to see you lose control."

He returned the weapons back to Nozomi before joining Kurapika at the front. The twelve year old gazed over at the blonde teen, nervous and concerned about his match and his safety. As the match was about to begin, Satotsu appeared by her side and told her that she needed to treat her arms. Remembering about her injury, she nodded and followed the purple hair man out of the room. The last thing she saw was Kurapika pulling out his weapon.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Nozomi returned to the main room to see Hisoka whisper something into Kurapika's ear. The teen's irises flickered red but returned to his original eye color before anyone could notice.

_Are those? No... Maybe I was just seeing things... _The girl thought as took a seat between Killua and Kurapika who soon joined the two twelve year olds.

Several hours passed and the number of passing applicants slowly increased. Still, the only people who have yet to pass were Leorio, Bodoro, Gitarakuru, and Killua. Thinking about the silver hair boy arrogance of letting go his first chance to win against Pokkle made Nozomi sigh in frustration and slight disappointment.

"Killua vs. Gitarakuru!"

_Maybe this time Killua will actually fight. _She thought as the fight started. However, instead of attacking each other, Gitarakuru pulled out a needle to reveal his true form.

"I-Illumi?!" Killua gasped, his body starting to sweat and tremble.

"Who is he?" Leorio muttered out

"He's Illumi Zoldyck... Also known as Killua's oldest brother." Nozomi quietly answered

Illumi started talking to Killua about how their mother was afraid that he wanted to be a hunter and asked if he really did want to become a hunter. Once Killua answered that he just wanted to try out the exam Illumi stated that the boy was not suited to become a hunter, he has to be an assassin. He continued on by saying that Killua should only find pleasure in killing, that assassins do not have friends, and he will not gain anything by becoming a hunter.

"It's not that I wanted to become a hunter that lead me here." Killua slowly began. "But there's something I'd like to have-"

"No, there isn't anything." Illumi interrupted. Killua finally regained most of his confidence and denied his brother's statement. "So tell it to me! What would you want?"

The twelve year old started to lose his usual confidence again as he spoke.

"I want... I want to become friends with Gon and Nozomi. I'm fed up with killing. I just want... to have friends. I want to have fun, like a normal kid."

"Killua..." Nozomi breathed out

"That is impossible. You can't make people be your friends." Illumi calmly stated and continued on saying that Gon and Nozomi were not his friends, as well as saying that one day he would want to kill them both since he is a natural born killer.

His comment irritated Leorio, Kurapika, and Nozomi immensely but out of the three of them, Leorio could not take it anymore and stepped forward. The referee warned the man before he could move any closer but he merely stated that he knew.

"Killua even if it's your friend or anyone else, I don't know, but I'm gonna tell you he's just and idiot, a dumbass that understands nothing at all! Go on! Burst him like you usually do, and pass the exam!" He angrily shouted. "You want to become friends with Gon and Nozomi? So don't fall asleep! You get along well, and you are friends, aren't you?! And I'm sure Gon and Nozomi feels the same way!"

Nozomi silently nodded in agreement, hoping that Killua would snap out of his daze.

"Eh? Really?" Illumi asked and Leorio exclaimed that it was true. "That bothers me... If they both think that they are his friend... I know! I'll just have to kill them."

Mostly everyone in the room froze, especially Killua. Recovering from her short moment of being stunned, Nozomi knitted her brow and defended the exit, holding her daggers in her hands.

"Killers don't need friends. Because they always get in the way." Illumi stated as he started to make his way over to Nozomi. "Of all people, you should know this Nozomi."

Before he got any closer, Leorio, Hanzo, and Kurapika stood in front of Nozomi, glaring at the older assassin. Sighing, he went back to Killua and held his hand out towards him, commanding him to not move or else he would start the fight just the same if his hand touched Killua.

_What are you going to do Killua?_

"I... I admit defeat." The boy said, lowering his head.

"Ah! I feel better. I'm glad that we don't have to fight. I lied to you, I have no intention on killing Gon and Nozomi. I only wanted to test you. Now that I have what I wanted." Illumi stated.

He then bent down and whispered something into the boy's ear before walking away. Meanwhile, Killua slowly returned to his seat and stared at the ceiling. His bright blue eyes were now dull and lifeless.

Everyone returned to the side as the next match was announced. Meanwhile, Leorio was yelling and shouting at Killua as Kurapika held him back, at times calling out the the silver hair boy. Nozomi on the other hand, knelt down beside the boy and tried to comfort him and even tried to bribe him with chocolate, but her efforts were futile. The boy remained the same.

"Killua..." Nozomi forced the candy bar into the boy's open palm and held his hand with both of hers. Her hands were trembling from the pain she was enduring from her wounds but she was mostly trembling from fear. The fear of never seeing the seeing her friend back to normal again. "Killua... Please snap out of it..."

Soon, Leorio and Bodoro were called up to redo their match.

"Ready..." The referee dragged on as he took a quick glance at both of the fighters.

As they waited for the battle to start, Nozomi felt Killua's hand escaping from her gentle grasp. She instantly looked at the direction to see that Killua had disappeared, her heart dropped.

"Begin!"

A cry of pain came from the arena. The twelve year old turned her head towards the cry to see Killua's arm running straight through Bodoro's back. Killua withdrew his arm from the elderly man, causing him to collapse onto the floor and the boy leisurely strolled out of the room.

"What... Just happened?"

* * *

**I did not change much, but I was able to add a bit more of Killua x Nozomi in this chapter than the first version.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	9. Ability and Kururu Mountain(rewritten)

I am kind of adding hints of a character who will appear later on in the story. Try guessing who the character is. ^-^

(HINTS: Only mentioned at the first flashback. Also using colors based off manga.)

* * *

Chapter 9

Ability and Kururu Mountain

Flashback

A small ray of moon light peeked through the dark clouds and onto the bloodied ruins of Meteor City. Mangled, chopped, decapitated, and shriveled up bodies scattered around the junkyard of a city. Despite her weariness, a young child and a young man leisurely walked up to a pink hair woman who was covered in her own crimson life force, the rest creating a pool beneath her. Her breath was ragged and her body shook whenever released the carbon dioxide from her lungs.

The child stared at the woman, frowning when she noticed that her breath had finally stopped.

"Master... What should we do with her?" She quietly asked as she crouched down closer to the body.

"She is a valued member of our organization." The man placed a hand on her shoulder, making the nine year old glance back at him. "There is only one thing that only you can do."

She knitted her brow in confusion for a second before realizing what the man meant.

"I-I can't do that! It's the complete opposite of my curse that you have been training my to use for the last two years and I still can't control my curse!" She shouted then lowered her voice. "...I don't think I can do it..."

"Nozomi, there is only one way to find out... It's now or never. I'm sure you know that."

The girl sighed, "I know."

Hesitantly, she pulled off her black gloves, revealing the unusually long life line marked on her small palms. Her small hands pressed against the young woman's chest, the pressure made the woman's short-sleeved uwagi get soaked in more blood. Taking a few deep breathes, Nozomi kept her eyes closed and nodded to herself.

"Please step back, Master."

The man took a few steps back and Nozomi listened to the sound of his shuffling feet as confirmation.

_Here goes nothing. _

* * *

Nozomi's eyes slowly opened to the bright sunlight shinning onto her face. Instinctively, she tried to block the sunlight out of her eyes with her hands. Just as she lifted up her arm, she noticed the taste of metal in her mouth.

_What the...?_

"Oh! You're finally awake!" A voice exclaim, clearly excited.

"Gon? Where-" Nozomi was cut off by Gon when he leaned over to his right and shook Kurapika's shoulder.

"Leorio! Kurapika! She's finally awake!"

Leorio rushed over to the twelve year old girl, bombarding her with questions that no one could understand. Nozomi gaped at the man, unsure what to do to make him stop. A perky brunette who was making announcements st the front of the bus asked Leorio to sit down, but he ignored her. Only when Kurapika told the man to stop, he calmed down and returned to his seat, his body was still facing the girl.

"Um..." Nozomi started and briskly scanned her surrounding. "Why am I in a bus?"

"We're going to Kururu mountain to get Killua!" Gon answered.

_So... They brought me here by force... Well, not that I mind since we're going to see Killua again. _She grinned at the thought of seeing the silver hair boy again, not realizing the blush creeping up on her face.

"By the way, here are your belongings." Kurapika handed Nozomi her black combat rucksack and a small stack of items with her touchscreen phone sitting on the very top. "We added our phone numbers to your phone. Hope you don't mind."

Nozomi shook her head and flicked through the small pile of cards and stopped at the chocolate bars at the very bottom. Curious, she opened the card stuck onto the candy...

Dear Nozomi,

I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me. If it was not for you, I would not be here right now.

If there is anything I can do I would gladly offer my assistance.

Sincerely, Bodoro

* * *

Flashback: After Killua Stabbed Bodoro

"What... just happened?" Nozomi murmured in a daze.

Except for Hisoka and Illumi, all of the male applicants and referees rushed over to aid the elderly martial artist. Shouts, questions, and orders were exchanged between the frantic group. Within all of the commotion, Leorio refused to let Bodoro die while the others faced facts. Meanwhile, Nozomi felt the urge of running after Killua but right now she was stuck between helping Bodoro or going after her friend.

"There's no point Leorio! He's dead!" Pokkle yelled

"No! He can still make it! He needs to be brought to a hospital!" Leorio argued.

"But he might not be able to make it in time." Nozomi interjected.

Realization entered Leorio's eyes but he violently shook the though out of his mind.

"Then we have to stop arguing and bring him there right n-"

"No." The girl interrupted, "There is only one thing we can do to save him."

Everyone fell silent, staring at the girl in confusion. Nozomi smirked and spun around to face Hisoka who looked at her in interest.

"You wanted to see what I can do, right? Well, help me bring Bodoro to one of the waiting rooms and I'll show you one of the abilities that only Master has seen me do."

Hisoka put on a smirk to match the girl's. He threw the body over his shoulder and followed the girl out of the room. Curious, Leorio and Kurapika chased after the two who disappeared behind a door.

Inside the other room, Hisoka tossed the body onto the bed before flopping into a nearby chair. His arms were crossed over his chest as he observed every single action of the girl, while Leorio and Kurapika stood by the closed door, still confused about what the girl was planning to do.

"Hm..." Nozomi pressed two of her fingers on Bodoro's neck. "No heartbeat. Well then Hisoka... You will be experiencing one of my weird abilities. When the time comes... You will be experiencing my deadly abilities personally."

Hisoka's yellow eyes glimmered in excitement and licked his lips, "Yes. When the fruit matures and is ready."

_Did he just call me a fruit? _The twelve year old thought but set the question aside. She peeled off her gloves and stuffed them into her jacket pocket, after cracking her knuckles she gazed at the extremely long life line marked on her hands.

"Okay, here I go..." Slowly her eyes hallowed out as a eery light glowed from her hands and seeped into the corpse's wound.

The three males watched in interest, seeing the wound return back to normal and Bodoro's dull black eyes had light again. A sharp gasp came from the elderly martial artist and he jerked up into a sitting position, his hand holding his chest.

"Bodoro...?" Leorio hesitantly asked.

The martial artist turned to Leorio's direction, confused by the shocked looks that Leorio and Kurapika was giving him.

Meanwhile, Nozomi wearily exit the room, trying not to stumble on the way out. She glanced back at her palms, inspecting the shortened but still long life line. A small sigh of exhaustion escaped her lips and a faint smirk played upon her lips to the soft sounds of footsteps behind her.

"Enjoy the show?" She asked before facing the man behind her. "Hisoka."

Hisoka chuckled and leaned against the wall, "But the show isn't finished yet... I still haven't seen the toll it has taken on you."

Shock entered her tired face for a short moment before it transformed into a weak smile.

"I see..." Black spots had already blocked most of her vision and started to invade the rest. "It won't be easy you know."

With that, she bolted, trying her best to see where she was going as she searched for Killua, hoping that he had not left the building yet. After running for about a mile the girl glanced back to see no one behind her then scanned the field of the hotel.

"I lost Hisoka and Killua?... Killua come back..." Nozomi panted.

Her breathe slowly calmed down as she carried herself towards the exit. While moving, the girl tracked Hisoka's aura.

_He's getting closer but he's taking his time. This is the best opportunity to- _

A sharp pain entered Nozomi's chest, breaking her train of thought. Soon her pain was followed up by voilently coughing up blood. Despite all of this, she forced herself to continue moving, but unfortunately she was only able to take a few steps before collapsing.

_Damn... I thought I would be able to hold it in a bit longer. Damn it!_

The last thing she saw before she fell unconscious were Hisoka's feet leisurely approaching.

* * *

Nozomi softly frowned at the card. _That's right. I brought him back to life but I was unable to get Killua back._

"Nozomi," The girl snapped out of her daze and looked up to meet Gon's enthusiastic smile. "We're here!"

The four got off the tour bus and listened to the tour guide explain to them about the giant gate in front of them, saying that it was the only way to enter the estate. Two bounty hunters that were on the same bus went up to the guard house and yanked a man out of the small building, lifting him up into the air.

"Open the door!" The larger one demanded.

"What a nuisance... I'm going to be in trouble with my boss." The guard stated

"Don't worry! We'll take care of your boss." the other sneered.

The two took a key from the guard and entered. A bloodcurdling scream could be head after a few minutes. Gon went over to the man to see if he was okay, while Nozomi stared at the door, wondering if there was another way to enter. To almost everyone's surprise the door creaked open and the bones of the two men were thrown out. All of the tourist and the tour guide got on the bus and telling the four to get on the bus.

"That's okay, just leave. We're staying here." Gon answered.

* * *

"I see. You're Killua-kun's friends?"

Currently, the four were seated in the guardhouse, sipping on the tea that was served to them by Zebro the Gatekeeper.

"It's a real pleasure for me! Having visitors this way. I have been working here for 20 years and your the first ones to come in peace." The old man happily stated.

He continued explaining about Mike the guard dog of the Zoldyck family, the Testing Gate and told them that they could not pass through the door. Kurapika was the first to catch on that the real entrance was not locked and Zebro nodded.

Immediately, Leorio went into the other room to find a large door. He pushed, pulled, and tried to lift the door but it wouldn't budge. Zebro merely stated that Leorio was weak and showed the four that they had to enter without pausing. He also explained that there was a total of seven doors and each door doubles in weight.

"Killua-kun goes through the third door." he finished

"Sir, led me your keys." said Gon "Even if I only came to see a friend, I must pass a test. So being an intruder fits me better."

Leorio, Kurapika, and Zebro tried to convince Gon not to go but no matter what they say he was still determined to go.

"Zebro-san, is it possible if there was another way to get in or at least contact Killua?" Nozomi asked

The old man scratched the back of his head in thought, "There is one thing..."

* * *

At Zebro's House

Nozomi had just entered the bathroom, wanting some solitary from everyone for a few minutes as well as getting rid of the taste of blood in her mouth. Meanwhile, the others were getting suited up with 50kg vest before getting to bed. The four of them had to put on the vest for their strength training since they agreed to train for at least a month.

The girl dug through her bag in search for her chocolate bar when she felt her phone vibrate. She quickly pulled out the white phone from her jacket pocket and checked the caller id. A grimace entered her emotionless face to the sight of the name and she hesitantly brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

* * *

**That's it for this chapter everyone! Also in case you were wondering, the ability that Nozomi uses in this chapter is not her "curse" but I won't say that it is not related to it.**

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it and I will try to post the next one soon. Hope you will continue reading and please review. :)**


	10. Master and the Zoldyck Family(fixed)

Chapter 10

Master and the Zoldyck Family

"Hello?"

"Did my daughter have fun at the Hunter Exam?" The voice asked.

A chill ran down the girl's back to the masculine voice. Even though she knew who was calling her, the sound of his voice made her panic.

_How did he find out?!_

"I... I'm sorry Master... I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She lowered her voice into a whisper.

"You didn't answer my question." Her Master calmly stated. "Did you have fun?"

The girl gulped, "Y-yes sir, I did... And I passed."

"Good job. Why haven't you returned to my side yet? You have no need to go anywhere else."

"Um..." She started, trying to figure out whether or not to tell the man the truth. "I'm helping some of my friends."

"Friends?" The man asked and Nozomi stuttered out a yes in response. "I see... I will yet you go with your friends for the time being. But at September 1st you must come back and forget about your 'friends', understand?"

Stunned by the news, Nozomi stared at the bathroom door as she listened to Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon's voices in the background.

Slowly composing herself she responded, "Yes sir."

"...Good... I will notify someone to remind you or I will call you again later..." Her Master trailed off as if he was reconsidering his orders. "Goodnight Nozomi."

"Goodnight... Master."

Both of them ended their call and still held their phones in their hands, staring at the device and lost in thought. Those who knew the child and the young man knew that their actions and thinking process were similar, but of course, not exactly the same. With a sigh, Nozomi shoved the phone back into her jacket and gazed up to her reflection right in front of her. A sudden image of her future self flashed in the mirror before returning to her normal self.

_What am I going to do? Should I accept my fate or challenge it?_

A cheerful voice of a certain black hair boy echoed throughout the household, causing the girl to lightly shake her head and smile.

_For now, I'll just go along with it. Besides I want to see Killua before I have to forget everyone._

* * *

The crisp midnight air brushed against Nozomi's skin and made her dark hair slightly move along with it. A ghost of a smile played upon her lips as she inhaled the fresh air into her lungs. Recently she had not been smiling, let alone showing any of her emotions to anyone. In her mind, it was the best way to separate herself from the others without hurting anyone.

It has only been several of minutes since she went outside, but she knew that there was someone stalking her ever since she and her friends arrived.

"Hey! Are you going to come out, go to bed, or just keep stalking me?" Nozomi called out to the hidden person.

Several more minutes passed and nobody was revealed, which caused the girl to sigh. "I know you're still there. If you want to know something just ask."

At last, a ten year old boy cautiously stepped out of the bushes and in front of the twelve year old girl. The boy had a shoulder length black hair, sharp violet eyes and a noticeable mole near the side of his mouth. He was also dressed a long red kimono with a yellow obi tied around his waist. To most people, he looked more like girl than a boy.

"Hey," Nozomi greeted with a warm smile. "So, what is it that you want?"

"Who are you and how long have you known my presence?" The boy demanded

Nozomi chuckled, "I'm pretty sure you've heard the others say my name but if you must know, my name is Nozomi and I knew you were here for about two weeks now or, more specifically, ever since me and my friends came here."

The boy's eyes widened before he turned his gaze to the ground, deep in thought.

"Don't worry. You're use of Zetsu is perfect." Nozomi stated and the boy looked back her in shock and disbelief. "If you don't believe me the others are proof for you. They haven't noticed you at all."

"Then... How come you've noticed me?" He asked

The twelve year old tapped her chin in thought then shrugged.

"I don't know, I must have a really good teacher." The girl chuckled, "Anyway, since you know my name. What's yours?"

"... Kalluto... Kalluto Zoldyck."

_Zoldyck huh... So he must be Killua's little brother_, _figures_.

"Well, it's nice to meet you and you should probably get your rest instead of stalking me. You can continue tomorrow if you want to continue."

Kalluto stared at Nozomi with wide eyes when a voice called out for the girl. Immediately, the girl shooed the young boy away with her hand as she called back to the voice. Kalluto quickly rushed back to the bushes, but before he disappeared, he snuck one last glance at the dark hair girl.

"You're one weird person... But in a good way." He whispered to himself.

Little did he know that Nozomi had heard him and was softly smiling as the person who called her reached the area.

"Nozomi is smiling?" Gon murmured as he lessened his speed and continued to approach the girl. It was the first of two weeks since he saw her warm smile that he grew fond of.

"Gon, What's up?" Nozomi asked, trying to force her smile to fade.

"You weren't in bed so..." He trailed off, remembering that Kurapika told him not to question the girl since she might be going through her own problems. He continued to remind himself that but at last he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why have you stopped smiling and everything?"

Nozomi sighed, "It's... Nothing really. Just a lot to think about." she glanced back to meet Gon's gaze. "I'll start smiling and showing my emotions more, okay?"

Despite her assurance, the green clad boy still held a determined look in his eyes.

"Promise me one more thing..." He started and the girl tilted her head in confusion. "Promise me that you will stick around until the end."

The twelve year old girl gaped at her friend, wondering why he would say such a thing and how would she respond to it. After composing herself, she opened her mouth to respond when another voice interrupted.

"Gon isn't that a lot to ask for?" The voice asked as he revealed himself.

"Kurapika..." The two kid murmured as the teen stepped forward.

Kurapika pulled Gon aside to speak to while Nozomi remained in the same spot, watching the two converse. After a while, the twelve year old boy turned his gaze over to Nozomi, but once they met eye contact a blush exploded on the boy's face and quickly snapped his head back towards the blonde teen who was smiling in amusement.

_Um... Did I do something wrong? _She thought as she observed the flustered twelve year old.

* * *

After the four met Killua's mother and Kalluto revealed himself to the other three, a fouteen year old girl named Canary brought them to a large house where they were able to directly call the Zoldyck's phone. Once they arrived, five tall men in black suits bowed and invited all of them in.

"Please forgive us for the incident a short while ago." A man named Gotoh apologized after treating Gon's wounds. "Madam called us a while ago and asked us to welcome you as official guests. Make yourself at home."

Straight after he finished, their phone rang and he quickly signaled one of the men behind him to answer it.

"We aren't in the Zoldycks' residence?" Kurapika whispered to Canary and she sadly shook her head.

Soon, the man who answered the phone came back and whispered something into Gotoh's ear. Gotoh's eyes widened with disbelief and asked the man to repeat what he just said. The man complied and repeated what he just said.

Gotoh signed before locking eyes with Nozomi, "Master Silva would like to have a word with you."

Nozomi silently gulped as she followed one of the men to the phone. When they arrived, the man handed her the phone and left, leaving the girl staring at the device held in her hand.

_Killua's father... I only met him once with Master but __he won't recognize me... Right?_

Finally bringing the phone up to her ear, she spoke.

"Hello?"

"So, your the one called Nozomi that my son has been talking about." Silva stated, "... Who would have thought that my son would have connections with your organization. Even after I told him to stay away from you people."

Nozomi knitted her brows in annoyance but she kept her voice calm and soothing.

"You don't have to worry... I'm not going to stay by your son's side too long. He will spend most of his time with Gon."

Right as she finished, she could hear Killua calling out hers and Gon's names. Meanwhile, on the phone, she heard Silva murmur one last threat before hanging up. However, the girl did not pay attention to the assassin's threat and rushed out to the main room.

There, she was a certain silver hair boy greeting the others. His entire body were covered in scares, burns, and bruises, but luckily his injuries were not as bad as Gon's.

"Nozomi!" Gon shouted enthusiastically. He rushed towards the girl in black held her hand. "Now Nozomi's back, lets go!"

The twelve year old girl gazed at their connected hands in confusion then looked up to see Gon's flush cheeks. _Does he have a fever?_

She then turned her attention to the group in before them. Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua were already walking towards the door, but strangely once her eyes met Killua's, he immediately turned his head to the other way and quicken his steps.

_Did I do something wrong... _She thought as she felt her chest tighten and her heart drop.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter and once again I'm sorry for the delay. Hope you like the chapter though. :)**


	11. Heavens Arena(rewritten)

Chapter 11

Heavens Arena

Nozomi stared up at the tallest building in the world. Her amber eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she recalled what Kurapika had informed them...

* * *

"Gon... I know where Hisoka is." The blonde teen stated and Leorio immediately questioned him, "He told me after the information meeting."

"But the thing he whispered into your ear after your match is related, right?" Leorio asked, "What exactly did he tell you?"

Kurapika paused, deciding on whether to speak or not but finally ended his silence with a sigh.

"It's about the Ryodan... He told me to meet up with him at York New city at September first."

_What?! Why would Hisoka do that?_

* * *

The twelve year old quietly sighed. "So in the end, they're all going to York New City..."

"Oi Nozomi, we're up!"

She snapped her head up to Gon's voice to see him calling her cover with Killua standing beside him. Nodding, she took a step forward but she was instantly swept back by the massive crowd. When she regained her footing, she made another attempt to make her way though the crowd without getting physical.

Unfortunately, once again, she was shoved back. However, this time the force from the other contestants was a lot stronger that before, causing her to lose her balance and fall. The twelve year old's eyes immediately clenched shut as she braced herself for the impact to find that never came.

"What are you doing, stupid?"

Slowly, Nozomi cautiously opened her amber eyes to meet a pair of blue eyes, staring at her.

"Killua?! Sorry I-"

The silver hair boy cut her off by ignoring her as he slipped into the crowd, leading the girl through the small spaces between as he held a firm grip on her wrist. Nozomi felt her temperature rise but swept the thought away as if it was nothing. Soon met up with Gon at the receptionist and registered their names.

Not long after entering the arena, Gon's number was called up along with another.

"Gon you passed the door test, right?" Killua asked. The other boy nodded and Killua whispered a plan in his ear.

After hearing the plan, Gon still seemed hesitant and nervous. Sensing this, Nozomi placed her hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a gentle smile.

"Good luck Gon."

A bright grin spread across the young boy's face and rushed off to the face his opponent. Once the audience saw that Gon was facing a large and quite muscular man, they started to tease and calling out to the boy, telling him that he won't win. The referee explained that all they had to do was demonstrate their abilities. The match began and the man was confident enough to think that all he needed to do was land a punch on the boy, but Gon easily dodged the attack and pushed him hard, sending the man to a far away wall.

"Good job Gon!" Nozomi shouted and flashed the boy a thumbs up along with Killua.

Killua's smile immediately dropped when Gon went off to the side. Furrowing his brows, he muttered, "I can do that too..."

"I know you can and its incredible that you can open that huge door by yourself." Nozomi responded as she remembered Zebro mentioning that Killua could open the third door by himself while the rest of them could only open the first. "I believe that you can knock them out in one hit too!"

Little did Nozomi know, Killua's face had turned bright red to her compliment and beliefs. Before Killua could utter anything else his number was called and he was about to rush down to the arena but he suddenly stopped and turned back to face the girl.

"I'll prove your beliefs to be true. Just watch me and only me, okay." Killua proudly declared, the red color in his face was fading but still maintained on his cheeks.

Surprise was evident by Nozomi's expression, but her surprise quickly transformed into a heartfelt smile, "Okay and good luck."

With a nod, the silver hair boy went down to the arena, doing his best to cover up his rush. His match soon began when the referee finished explaining the rules and as promised Killua knocked his opponent unconscious.

_Good job Killua._

Next, Nozomi's number was called. The girl leisurely strolled down to the arena to meet her opponent.

"Oh look! It's just a little girly!" One of the audience members announced before bursting out in laughter. "You better run before the big man hurts you!"

_He is pretty big... _She thought as she stared up to the beefy man towering over her. _Okay... Just keep it nice and simple..._

_"_You better forfeit before I accidently kill you." Her opponent mocked

"Let's just start," Nozomi mumbled in response.

The referee signaled the match to begin and the man charged at her. Nozomi stepped aside and bent down to catch one of his ankles, causing the man to fall flat on his face. Still having a good grip on the man's ankle, she got up and started to spin with the man flailing his whole body around in the air. When she let go, the man went flying and crashed into a wall.

"Number 2056," The referee called and handed the girl a ticket, "You can go to the fiftieth floor. Good luck."

Nozomi nodded and rush over to the two boys, showing them the ticket in her hand. Gon praised the girl for her tactics while Killua remained silent and stared at his two friends interacting, a small frown etched on his face. However, his frown quickly vanished when the girl turned towards him.

"You were amazing too, Killua!" The girl exclaimed then hugged him. She noticed him stiffen so she quickly released the boy and shyly smiled.

In her mind, she was scolding herself for her actions and reminding herself that the higher they go up in the building, the closer they will get to Hisoka.

The three kids were lead to an elevator by a woman who also explained about they systems and rules about the Heavens Arena.

"I heard if you pass the 100th floor you get your own room." A voice said from behind the three as they exited the elevator.

Killua, Gon, and Nozomi turned to him and the boy introduced himself as Zushi. The others introduced themselves in return as they walked to the receptionist.

"I had an honor of watching your matches. You guys are great!" Zushi praised and Killua returned the praise, saying that he only had to hit his opponent once to win too. "By the way, which dojo did you come from? Personally, I came from the Kung-fu Shingen dojo."

Killua and Gon simply replied that they didn't go to any school. While Nozomi answered that she didn't go to a school either but her Master was the one who taught her to fight.

"I still have a long way to go..." Zushi stated, more to himself than the others.

An applause suddenly caught the children's ears and when they turned around they saw that it came from a man wearing a pair of spectacles with a part of his shirt untucked.

"That's good Zushi. You follow my teachings well." The man praised and Nozomi noted the fact that Zushi addressed the man as "master" when the boy reminded the man about his shirt.

After sheepishly fixing his shirt he asked who the three kids were beside his student.

"Ah they are Killua-san, Gon-san, and Nozomi-san." Zushi introduced the three.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wing." The man introduced himself while smiling.

Killua and Gon got into the same stance as Zushi as they greeted the man. Meanwhile, Nozomi just nodded her head and smiled.

"I never thought that I would see other kids like Zushi. Why are you here?" Wing asked

"Well, to become stronger, but... We're broke and we wanted to earn some money." Killua replied.

Gon added that Killua had entered the arena before. Before departing, Wing told them to take care of themselves and their adversaries. The four smiled and nodded as they left. When the four kids entered the other room and were out of sight, Wing adjusted his glasses as he continued to stare at the entrance of the other room.

"Nozomi... She has a very impressive aura. I'm curious about Killua and Gon auras now."


	12. Decided Future Events(rewritten)

Chapter 12

Decided Future Events

"Hisoka wins again in one shot!"

Lying flat on her bed, Nozomi stared at the snow-white ceiling above her as she listened to spectating of each battle on the TV. Meanwhile, Killua and Gon were at Wing's apartment to learn about Nen. The girl was offered to join the two boys, but she declined since she already learnt about the four basic principles of nen. She would have even offered the boys to teach them about nen herself but unfortunately she was not good at teaching.

Slowly, the girl turned her head towards the television to see the red hair magician walking towards the exit with a ticket to the 200th floor in his hand.

"He's already at 200 huh..." She whispered to herself then her eyes drifted off to see her phone lying on the floor beside her bag. "Avoiding September first is inevitable... Damn it! I want to stay with Killua and Gon..."

Suddenly, she could had sworn that her heart stopped when she heard her phone ring. She hesitantly picked up the device from the floor and checked the caller id.

She could have sworn that she felt her heart skip a beat to the sight of the name. Automatically, her hand flew up to her chest and clenched her jacket.

_What on Earth? Is that normal or am I getting sick?_

Not wanting to keep the caller waiting any longer, she answered, "Hey Killua. How was the lesson?"

"Wing lied, but we are going to hurry up and go to the 200th floor either way."

"Oh... Alright." She answered, remembering Hisoka.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, sensing the difference of tone in the girl's voice.

Nozomi shook her head and threw her bag over her her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, do you want to meet up at the arena?"

"Sure... We'll see you there." With that, Killua hung up his phone but continued to stare at the device.

Gon noticed and tilted his head, "What did Nozomi say?"

Killua looked back at his curious green clad friend and flashed him a fake smile, simply answering that they were going to meet up with the girl at the arena.

* * *

Killua, Gon, and Nozomi stood in the elevator, going up to the 200th floor. Gon asked Killua about how the 200th floor was like but he answered that he has never been there before. As the two boys were talking, Nozomi stared down at the bracelet dangling around her wrist, deciding whether she should hide the accessory or not. She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a hand grab onto hers. To her surprise, she looked up and saw Killua. He looked like he wanted to ask something but he kept quiet and dragged her out.

Once leaving the elevator, Killua quickly released the girl's hand before the other boy could see.

_What was that about? _Nozomi thought then gaze down at her hand, still feeling the boy's warmth lingering in her palm. _That was kinda nice..._

Shaking away the thought, the twelve year old ran up to the others to see them standing in the middle of the hallway. Their bodies were trembling and sweat ran down their faces.

"Oh no! Killua! Gon!" She shouted as she joined the two boys, automatically pulling out her daggers from their sheaths.

"Nozomi... Stay back." Killua ordered, pulling the girl to go behind him, "Hey! Who's there? Show yourself!"

Unexpectedly, a woman wearing the heavens arena uniform appeared at the other end of the hall. The woman explained that the three of them needed to register before midnight or else their registration would be refused and that they were allowed to use weapons on this floor. She then walked off to the side as another figure came to view.

"HISOKA?!" Gon exclaimed "What are you doing here?"

"Why so surprised? I love to fight and this place is the capital of fights. I should be the one asking you, shouldn't I?" The magician replied. "But, it's not a coincidence that I met you here, I was waiting."

Hisoka's eyes drifted towards the black clad girl hidden behind the silver hair boy. The girl furrowed her brows and slowly inched back to her original position beside Killua, while Hisoka explained that the two boys were not ready to pass.

"Go back to the bottom." Hisoka ended and waved his hand towards the three, sending the two boys flying back slightly and Nozomi moving forward to stand protectively in front of her friends.

"Come back another time. Right now it's too soon you." He stated as he sat down.

"Are you kidding?! We've made it here-" Killua was cut off by Hisoka raising his hand.

"You won't bypass. Actually, you can't pass. However..." Hisoka unexpectedly threw a card at Nozomi. Knowing she would not have enough time to dodge the attack, she caught it with her fingers instead. "Nozomi can and she will wait with me."

_Wait with him? What does... Hold on... _Before the girl could examine the card, she felt her body being pulled over to the magician at a rapid speed. When she stopped, she was caught in the magician's grasp but was forced to take a seat beside the man.

"Nozomi!" The two boys shouted and tried to force their way through the invisible wall that kept them apart.

Luckily, before the boys could injure themselves Wing appeared behind them and told them to stop as well as agreeing to really teach them nen. Killua and Gon glanced back at the girl.

"We'll be back by midnight." Gon assured while Killua glared at Hisoka.

Nozomi nodded in response and waved them off, not wanting them to waste anymore valuable time. After about an hour of silence, Nozomi sighed.

"So... What's with this card?" She asked, lifting up the card between her fingers. One side showed a joker but on other side was blank and a date was scribbled on it. "Are you going to have a match on this date?"

The magician chuckled, "You're sharp. Another reason why you are one of my toys."

_I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not... _The girl thought

"It is a date for a match... But it is not confirmed yet." Hisoka then turned to look at the curious girl, "It's the future match of me verses... You."

"W-What?"

Their conversation came to a halt when the two felt the immense power of nen approaching. Slowly, the two boys got closer and closer until they went through the invisible wall with ease. Nozomi and Hisoka got up to their feet. The child stared at the card in her hand while Hisoka told Gon that when the boy won one battle on the 200th floor then he would fight him.

"And Nozomi... We will continue our conversation later."

The girl nodded, "Understood."

The magician smirked then walked off. Meanwhile, Killua and Gon looked back and forth between the retreating man and their young friend, wondering what the two were discussing about. However, before anyone could ask, the girl grabbed their hands and dragged them to the receptionist.

* * *

A scream tore its way through Nozomi's throat and snapped up into a sitting position. Her eyes were wide, body trembling, and hyperventilating. As her breathing slowed down, she turned her phone on, creating a small light for her to scan the dark room.

"No one..." She switched her attention to her hands. She could have sworn that they were painted red, but to her relief it was normal. "It was just a dream... Thank goodness."

Despite the fact that it was only two A.M., Nozomi decided it was time for her to wake up. Especially since she did not want to resume her nightmare.

_Might as well resume me nen training... _The girl thought as she pulled out a white tank top and black shorts from her bag.

Just as she was about to change, her door was slammed to the ground and two familiar figures appeared on the other side of the exit.

"Nozomi! Are you alright?!" Gon and Killua asked in panic.

The three fell silent as they stared at each other. Nozomi's hands froze, not noticing that she was still holding her baggy pajama shirt up to reveal her stomach, while the boys just stared at her position as their faces turned red.

"Sorry!" Gon apologized and quickly placed the door back in its original position, separating the two boys from the girl.

Nozomi quickly changed her clothes and went out to greet the red faced boys.

"So... What's up?" She asked, curious to why the two were up so early.

"We heard you scream..." Killua stated and he was finally able to look at the girl's eyes again.

"Are you okay?" Gon asked again.

The twelve year old girl looked at her two friends with surprise, but her expression softened and she engulfed the two boys into a hug.

_How can I not be okay if I know that you two are alive to prove my dream wrong, but... _Nozomi recalled the image of Killua, Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and her master lying on the ground, lifeless. While she stood before them with her blood-coated hands. _If I stay with them any longer, my dream will come true._

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please review. :)**


	13. First Match

Chapter 13

First Match

"On the right arm, fracture of the radius and ulna. An a crack on the higher part." Killua named all of Gon's injuries. Meanwhile, Nozomi was sitting beside the silver hair boy, with her face buried in her hands and sighing. "Three fractures and twelve cracks in your ribs. Convalescence: four months. Stupid Animal!"

"... Sorry." Gon stuck his tongue out.

"I don't care about your apologies! What the hell went through your mind?!" Killua yelled as he poked Gon's forehead repeatedly. "You saw what happened to the ones that come here without knowing anything about nen, didn't you? A bit more, and you would have become like them! Consider yourself really lucky that it didn't end like that! Why do you think glasses-guy taught us this stuff?"

"I endured his attacks several times... If I was able to protect my vital points, I wouldn't die..." Gon answered, earning him a kick to his injured arm by Killua.

Just as Killua kicked Gon's arm, there was a knock on the door. Nozomi finally removed her face out of her hands to see Killua still kicking the other boy's arm. Shaking her head, she got up from her chair and answered the door. It was Wing. The man walked straight to Gon, ignoring everything, incluing Gon's apology. A loud clapping sound echoed through the room when he slapped Gon hard on the face. His action's shocked all three of the children, but either way he scolded Gon like Killua but he ended calmly by stating that he was glad to see that the boy wasn't hurt as much as the others.

"Killua-kun, do you know how long the convalescence will last?" Wing asked

"The doctor said about two months." The boy lied and caught eyes with Nozomi, signaling to her to keep silent.

Even without the signal she would have kept silent, but either way she responded with a smirk which quickly disappeared before Wing could see. On the other hand, Wing told Gon to not enter a match for two months and he can't practice or learn Nen. The twelve year old boy promised that he won't and Wing tied a string on his pinky finger, to remind the boy his promise went he looked at it. He then asked Killua and Nozomi outside to talk, leaving Gon alone in his bed.

When the three out of the building, Nozomi and Killua took a seat by a nearby bench while Wing stood before them.

"Killua... Nozomi... What's your true objective?" Wing asked

* * *

"Killua, tell Gon that even if he can't practice the sensation of Nen, he can still practice the Nen of inflammation. Tell him to do the point Ten everyday!" Wing called out to Killua who was already walking away.

Meanwhile, Nozomi stood beside the man as she watched her friend walking further and further away. Wing had asked the girl to stay back since he wanted to speak to her more. When Killua had left their sights, Wing turned to the girl.

"Your match is on May 31st, correct?" He asked and Nozomi nodded in confirmation."Then you should train with me and will help you prepare for your upcoming match and since you already know how to use the basic principles of Nen it should be a easy for you."

"If that's okay with you then I'll be honored. Thank you." Nozomi bowed deeply then scrutinized Wing's face. Deep down she wanted to reassure and tell him that he made the right choice on teaching Killua and Gon about Nen, but she decided not to speak since she didn't know whether it will make him feel better or not.

Instead they both walked to Wing's apartment in silence.

* * *

May 31st

Nozomi VS Ike

Nozomi was standing at the arena, staring up at her opponent, Ike. A tall young man with long silver hair and seemed like he was nothing but skin and bones. As Nozomi waited for the match to start she was wondering whether she should fight him or give him a sandwich.

"Begin!" The referee signaled

Ike charged towards Nozomi, his arm pulled back and ready to punch. As he got closer, Nozomi examined his actions then frowned.

_This guy isn't even trying._

Right when the man's fist could collide with her face, he ducked and swung his leg at the twelve year old's legs. In which she expected and dodged in the last minute, swiftly kicking the man's face as well.

"Clean hit! Two point for Nozomi."

Nozomi slowly distanced herself from Ike. Her eyes were locked onto the man as she watched his expressionless face grew a bone-chilling sneer.

"Sensei's right." He stated as he got up to his feet. "I shouldn't hold back my abilities against her daughter."

"D-daughter? You know my mother?" Nozomi questioned.

Ike's sneer grew wider to Nozomi's interest. He stepped forward until he reached the middle of the arena.

"Lets make a deal. If you win, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about your mother. If I win, you have to give me that." He pointed at Nozomi's silver bracelet held out his hand for a handshake, "Also neither of us can hold back, deal?"

Nozomi looked at the large outstretched hand, back at her bracelet, then back at the hand. Hesitantly, she took the man's hand.

"Deal..."

The both released each other's hands at the same time and stepped back. Nozomi got into a fighting stance while Ike cracked his knuckles.

"Ready... Begin!" He announced and thrust his fist out towards the girl, but to her surprise a red orb flew in her direction at an incredible speed.

The girl's eyes widened in shock and quickly dodged the orb. Unfortunately for her, more orb came flying at her in every direction. She was able to dodge most of them, while the others were able to scrape her arms and legs, leaving a burn mark as evidence.

Knowing that she was in a disadvantage, Nozomi charged at the man, throwing punches and kicks to his face and torso.

"Nozomi and Ike both have eight points!" The referee announced

Now both Nozomi and Ike were panting from the mass amount of energy they used during the match. Rage filled the man's eyes while Nozomi just was trying to figure out how she would be able to get her last two points without getting hit.

"Hey kid! You aren't going by our agreement." Ike stated, earning a confused look from the girl. "You're holding back! I know you can defeat me in one shot and yet we're neck to neck! Follow our agreement already!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Ike-san." Nozomi calmly responded.

Her response irritated Ike even further, "Fine. I'll just have to force it out or win."

Right as he finished his sentence, Nozomi felt something hook her arms from behind and lifting her up into the air.

_What on Earth? _She thought and looked back to see a clone of Ike keeping a tight grip on her. Switching her gaze back to the original, she saw a large red orb in his hand increasing in size as every second passed. _No... I can't lose now! The only item I have from my mother is on the line._

"Goodbye Nozomi." Ike then launched the orb.

_No... No... _Without anyone's notice, Nozomi's irises turned ivory in an instant and a demonic scream tore its way through her throat. "NO!"

Darkness cloaked the battle arena, sealing out the referee and audience from the two fighters. Nothing could be seen or heard in the darkness. All that could be heard was the audience's murmurs and all that could be seen was the referee trying to enter the pitch-black barrier but in the end he was unable to penetrate it.

At last, five whole minutes had passed and the barrier dispersed, revealing the twelve year old girl holding her head while the man was curled up on the floor. His boy was cold and pale, and his eyes were wide and full of fear. The referee rushed up to inspect Ike.

"Ike has passed about and is unable to fight. Nozomi wins!" The referee announced.

Before the audience could cheer, Nozomi ran out of the arena and slumped down on the floor. Her body was trembling and she hugged herself in attempt to comfort herself.

"Nozomi." The girl glanced up to see Wing looking down at her with worry, "Are you okay? What happened out there?"

"I-I don't know... This has never happened to me before."

* * *

"...Zomi... Nozomi... NOZOMI!"

The said girl woke up with a jolt. Her breath was heavy and her hands were gripped onto another person's arms, unable to control her head to look up at the person before her.

"Nozomi, are you okay?" The person asked.

_That voice... Killua... _At last she was able to move her head to look up at the other person to see that it was Killua. Her body immediately relaxed and her grip on Killua's arms lessened but still held onto him.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. What time is it?" She asked, looking around to avoid eye contact.

"It's midnight." He replied, staring at the girl's pale face.

Mentally, he wanted ask her and know what had happened during her match, but he wasn't able to watch it since Zushi came over to visit while she was having her match. By the time Zushi left, he and Gon had turned on the TV only to find the paramedics carrying away a man with a stretcher while the audience and spectators questioned what had happened and were enthusiastic to see the girl's next match.

"Hey Killua..." Nozomi started, her voice catching the boy's attention, "Can you stay with me tonight?"

"Huh?" He responded, a bit surprised of her request. Nevertheless, he remembered the feared look that remained in her eyes, even up to now. "... Alright..."

Nozomi looked up at him with surprise too but decided not to question him anymore. Meanwhile, Killua was about to go to the couch when he realized that the girl's grip grew tighter again by his actions. Nozomi realized this too and quickly forced herself to let go as she murmured an apology.

"Move over." Killua ordered as he tried to hide his embarrassment, "It's more comfortable on the bed than the couch."

A small smile crept onto Nozomi's face to the boy's lie but she complied anyway. They both lay on the bed. Nozomi kept her eyes closed while Killua scanned the room as a distraction.

"Thanks... Killua..."

Killua snapped his attention back to Nozomi to find her sleeping peacefully. Her mouth was slightly open and a single hand lay by her head with the other gripped onto the blanket. Killua softly smiled at the sight and soon found himself falling asleep as well.

* * *

**Well, that's it for this chapter everyone. I hope you enjoyed it and please review.**


	14. Water Technique

**DXMidnightxMoonXD: Thanks a lot for the review and I am glad you like the plot.**

**Bushwah: Thank you as well for your reviews and I am glad to see that you can feel like you can respect me for writing this. Usually I am a comedian but sadly I can't put it in writing... Oh well! At least some people like serious stories. Also I will try to post every weekend.**

* * *

Chapter 14

Water Technique

Both Killua and Gon had fought and won their matches... Well, two of Killua's opponents withdrew. Nevertheless, now the three were on their way to Wing's apartment.

Usually it would only be the two boys who went to Wing's apartment for training while Nozomi stayed at the Heavens arena, training by herself or just watching the day go by around her. She would only train with the others only if she had a match coming up, but this time was different.

"From now on, you're going to learn about Hatsu." Wing announced. "If you manage to master it you'll have the necessary basis to control Nen. After that, you can add your own originality and you'll have your own Nen."

The three and Zushi nodded, signaling Wing to continue.

"Hatsu is the technique consisting in releasing Nen. In other words, you will finalize your Nen skills. It is divided into six categories: emission, transformation, reinforcement, manipulation,materialization and specialization." Wing explained, "What's important for you is to find which one fits you."

"Which one fits us?" Nozomi quietly reiterated

"Nen's abilities are linked to the character of each person." The man continued.

He explained that the first aptitude is what they get at birth. For example, Gon's supple and agile muscular structure. The second is what they acquire during their life, which he used Gon's acute senses that he gained during his childhood spent in nature as an example. Like the first aptitude, each person's Nen category were chosen at birth.

"If you want to learn these six abilities, you have to find which one fits you best. Otherwise, you will have a lot of difficulties." He stated as he drew a diagram of the six categories.

Reinforcement gives a person more physical strength or increases their efficiency with an object. Emission allows the person to project their aura. Manipulation allows the person to manipulate inert materials or living materials. Specialization have a particular aura that has attributes that the others don't. Transformation lets the person have the ability to change the properties of their aura. Lastly, Materialization lets the user to materialize their aura.

For another example, Wing stated that Hisoka has a transformation aura while Kastro, Hisoka's dead opponent, had multiple Nen types.

"In short, he made bad choices but... Is there a way to know which category we belong to?" Killua asked

"Yes, there is." Wing answered and pulled out a wine glass.

He pour water into to glass and placed a single leaf in the middle. He called that the 'water technique' a technique only taught in the Shingen dojo which is also used to practice Hatsu. He then demonstrated what the four kids had to do by releasing his Ren on each side of the glass, causing the water level to increase until it overflowed.

"Fine now you try it. We will chose the order by rock-paper-scissors"

Gon won the rock-paper-scissors match, Zushi came in second, Killua third, and Nozomi fourth.

The green clad boy placed his hands on the sides of the glass as the other three leaned in close, anxiously waiting for any change to the water and leaf. Slowly the water began to rise and a drop slid down the side of the cup.

"Oh! Gon has reinforcement too." Killua stated.

Next was Zushi. His Ren caused the leaf to move slightly, signaling that his category was manipulation. Killua's Ren showed no effect on the leaf or the water but once he tasted the water which became slightly sweet; his was transformation. Last was Nozomi. She set her hands by the sides of the glass, starting to release her Ren while the others kept their eyes on the glass.

At first, there was no physical reactions to the water or leaf. Nozomi narrowed her eyes on the water, wondering if her category is the same as Killua. Just as she was thinking about to stop releasing her Ren, an alarmed shout broke her thoughts.

"The leaf is on fire!" Zushi exclaimed in panic while Gon, Killua, and Wing continued to watch in interest.

Soon enough the water beneath the burning leaf wrapped around the fire, enclosing the flame in a water-made sphere, which slowly froze into ice. When the freezing process was done, the ball of ice sat in the wine glass with the small fire still burning in the center.

"... So, what category am I?" Nozomi asked Wing, looking at him with curiosity.

"You're a specialist!" He exlaimed, his eyes gleaming with amazement, "I've never seen the affects of the water technique for a specialist before."

Pink dusted the girl's cheeks to the compliment, while Wing told them that during the next four weeks the four kids will practice using their Hatsu. After that announcement, the three boys ran off to work on their Hatsu with the water technique. Nozomi took her time to find her spot to start practicing. As she practiced, she couldn't help but wonder if her 'curse' was actually her Hatsu.

* * *

"Hey Killua," Gon began as he and the other two walked back to the heavens arena. "Where were you in the morning of our first match?"

Night had already taken over and only the light of the dim light of the moon lit the children's path. Also, revealed my the dim light were the crimson faces of Killua and Nozomi as they remembered waking up together in each other's arms. Together they swore not to tell a single soul, not even the good friend Gon.

"I had to go check on the time of our matches." Killua smoothly fabricated.

"Oh okay..." Gon trailed off when he noticed Nozomi's flushed face, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh? Yes, I'm fine."

Before anything else was passed between the three kids a soft sound of a phone recieving a text filled the air. In one swift movement, Nozomi withdrew her phone from her pocket and read the message, not noticing the uplifted hands of Gon and Killua who were about to check her temperature.

_We need to talk about our upcoming match. _

_Isolate yourself first before you call me._

_From, Hisoka_

Nozomi narrowed her eyes and quickly turned off the device before anyone else could see. Murmuring an apology, she ran the rest of the way back to her room, leaving the two boys dumbfounded by her actions. Once entering her room the girl locked the door behind her and slid against it until she was sitting on the carpeted ground with her hand still hold ing onto her phone, she dialed Hisoka's number.

"Hello? It's me and I'm by myself." She stated when she heard that the ringing had stopped.

"You're as fast as usual." Hisoka stated, "I have a message for you."

"...What is it?"

"All of us are required to meet up on August 30th. So... I have a bet for our match." he answered, "If I win our match, you have to revive whoever I want and you must keep Killua and Gon alive. And if you win..."

"You will have to tell my Master that I will not be attending or returning ever again?" Nozomi suggested.

"Hm... Agreed. Do we have ourselves a deal?"

Nozomi nodded to herself, even though she knew that her chance of winning was slim but it was the best chance for her to get away from her Master.

"Yes, we do. We'll register for our match tomorrow?" Nozomi listened to his response before hanging up.

After a moment of contemplating, Nozomi finally got up from the floor and gazed out her window to examine the tree leaves scattered all over the pavement.

_"Well, I better practice some more before the match."_

* * *

Early the next morning, Nozomi was awoken by the sound of knocking on her door. Still half-asleep, she raised her head up from the table, gazing at the empty glass cup and frozen spheres scattered across the room as she listened for the knocking sound again.

The knocking returned again, but louder and seemingly impatient. Not wanting the visitor to break down the door, she rushed over and opened it. To her surprise she found Killua and Gon looking at her. A grin was adorn on Gon's face while Killua had a grim expression.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" She asked.

Without uttering a single response, Killua handed her a note that had a piece of tape on the top, showing that it was stuck on her door.

_If you want to know who your mother is, meet me at the diner near the heavens arena on the 8th of July, 1P.M._

_-Ike_

"Are you excited to finally learn about your mother?" Gon happily asked and Nozomi weakly nodded.

"He could be lying." Killua stated, "Are you still going to go?"

Nozomi fell silent, thinking. "_I would go but... My match with Hisoka is during that time and day. Should I bail the match and let Hisoka win by default, so I can learn about my mother or fight Hisoka and possibly lose my only chance to learn something about her."_

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. Hope you all like it and please review!**


	15. July 8th

Chapter 15

July 8th

Th dim light of the moon seeped into Nozomi's room where she lay awake in her bed. Her head turned towards where her calendar hung. A circle was marked around July eleven, indicating to her that it would be that day when the clock struck twelve. Next, she directed her attention to the clock hanging nearby.

_"11:56 P.M." _She notified herself before finally revealing her despondent expression.

Suddenly a moan filled the empty silence and entered Nozomi's left ear as a pair of arms grazed over her bandaged torso, pulling her closer to the person. Once after doing so, another sound replaced the moan. A dissatisfied grunt. From her other side, another pair of arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders before pulling her towards the right. Since she knew what was happening, she released an exasperated sigh.

"Dang it Killua and Gon... Why won't you two let me sleep by myself?" She quietly asked as she glanced over at both of the boys. Gon lying on her left and Killua on her right.

* * *

Two Days Ago

July 8th, 12:57 P.M.

Nozomi stood at her required destination as she rechecked if the buckle on her jacket was undone and if her knives were strapped to her thighs. But, she wasn't planning on using her weapons on anyone. Her hand then went to her left wrist to find that her bracelet was missing. A short moment of panic flooded the girl but she soon remembered that she lent it to Killua, who wanted to borrow it for some unknown reason.

Her surroundings were busy and noisy, filled with enthusiastic people. However, the girl merely ignored the noise since she was already nervous enough for what is about to happen next. Immediately, the noise increased rapidly as the other person arrived to meet her.

The door in front of her rose, revealing the girl to the noisy people and she briskly walked through and towards the other person who was approaching her as well.

"Finally! Nozomi VS Hisoka! The battle between the child of dread and the killer magician will finally begin." The spectator announced over the cheering crowd.

Nozomi and Hisoka had instantly locked eyes once they left the door and when they where standing before each other they were smirking at one another, both excited for the match to begin. A powerful aura rippled off both of the fighters.

"Begin!"

Immediately, a storm of playing cards flew towards the girl, which she deflected with ease. Her hands tightly gripped onto her daggers that she withdrew by instincts and held it close to her face.

_"I feel like this happened before..."_

She shook the thought out of her head and stabbed her daggers into the tiled ground. A faint, wisp of charcoal-colored smoke swirled around the blades before it seeped into the cracked tiles. Uncertainty filled her mind to the decision of using her newly gained ability, but it was the only plan she could think of that could increase her chances of winning.

"Nozomi look out!" Gon's voice rang out throughout the arena.

The twelve year old girl glanced up to see another flurry of cards flying her way. She was only able to block one or two cards, while the others cut deeply into her torso.

"Critical hit! Two points for Hisoka!"

Ignoring the announcement, Nozomi yanked out all of the cards that were lodged into her gut, knowing that he might have already used his Bungee gum on her. Soon, she was pulled towards Hisoka as he met her halfway. His elbow was inching closer to her face in less than a few seconds. Luckily for the girl, she was able to evade the attack and collide her fist to the magician's face. Hisoka staggered back as Nozomi took this chance to widen the space between them.

"One point for Nozomi!"

Nozomi set an arm over her stomach in attempt to lessen the bleeding of the deeper cuts while she watched a devilish smirk enter the magician's face when he reigned his posture. His gaze locked onto Nozomi, causing her to smirk and signal the man to come. With that, the two opponents charged at each other, throwing punches and blocking one another's attacks.

"Hisoka is leading by 9 to 3!" The spectators announced.

The twelve year old girl gritted her teeth to the score, _"If Hisoka gets one more point then I'll lose..."_

Currently Nozomi was on one knee and next to her daggers, while Hisoka was not the least bit fatigue. The magician leisurely walked towards Nozomi as he lightly shook his head from side to side.

"I expected better from you, Nozomi. I'm disappointed." He stated, "I might as well end you now if you're going to be a broken toy..."

Hisoka grabbed Nozomi's shirt collar as his other arm was drawn back, ready to pierce straight through her heart. Unconsciously, her eyes fluttered shut as if she had accepted her fate. The crowd surrounding them roared in excitement, ready to see the child die for their own amusement. Meanwhile, Wing, Gon, and Zushi were frantically scolding the girl, telling her to get up.

_"Too bad Wing, Gon, and Zushi are here to see this... At least Killua isn't here." _She thought, slightly disappointed that Killua could not come and see her.

"Nozomi! What are you doing?!"

_"Killua?"_

Nozomi's eyes snapped open and her hands flew over to grab her daggers. The charcoal-colored smoke quickly wrapped around her arms, then the rest of her body. Hisoka's hand pierced through Nozomi's smoke-covered body, causing her body to double over in pain and grab his arms.

"Hm?" Hisoka watched the smoky body in interest as it slowly moved it's head upwards, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Over here."

The magician turned his head to the voice, but before he could see the person he was sent flying. After flying a few feet, he stopped himself but he earned another harsh punch to the face.

"Four points for Nozomi!" The referee announced

Slightly confused, Hisoka glanced up to see the dark hair girl standing before him, a smile smirk etched on her face. There was a small trace of blood on her chest where his arm should have penetrated.

"I still have something to do, even if I'm your toy or not." Nozomi stated as she got into a fighting stance.

Excitement entered the magician's eyes to the sight of Nozomi's determination.

"Good Nozomi! Good! But too bad we have to end this soon." Hisoka sharply yanked his arm back and pulled this bungee gum that was attatched to the girl's foot, causing the girl to fall on her back.

"One point for Hisoka, 10-7! Hisoka wins!"

Nozomi pushed herself up to her feet, her brows knitted together is disappointment. Suddenly, a black hoodie with St. Peter's Cross embroidered on the back was forced into her hands.

"You have improved, but you still have a lot of work to do." said Hisoka as he walked off, "Don't forget our deal."

* * *

"Ouch!" Nozomi yelped as she rubbed her forehead, but a small red mark remained where Killua flicked her.

"Killua! Don't hit her anymore. She's hurt enough as it is already." Gon scolded, trying to hold the silver hair boy back from causing anymore damage.

"Yeah, she has to get eleven stitches and she almost died!" Killua angrily responded then turned back to the injured girl, "You lost the match and you lost your opportunity in finding out about your mother, but at least you're lucky to leave the arena with your life!"

"Sorry..." Nozomi replied, sincerely.

A heavy tension filled the room to the wanted, yet unsaid words that both Nozomi and Killua held inside. Trying to ease the tension, Gon told Killua to let it go and just look forward in meeting his family that they are planning to go see after his match with Hisoka.

"Meeting your family?" Nozomi asked and Gon enthusiastically nodded.

"Yeah! I... I really want you to meet Mito-san." A blush appeared on the boy's cheeks

His blush went unnoticed by the girl, but Killua caught sight of it and glared at him. Before anyone else could say anything else, Wing called Nozomi's phone and asked for Gon. The boy answered and stepped out of the room, leaving Killua and Nozomi sitting in an awkward silence.

_"Should I tell Killua about my bet with Hisoka?... But he would get even angrier at me if I did and this is something I want to handle by myself."_

A hiss of pain suddenly escaped Nozomi's lips and she snapped her head towards Killua whose attention was on one of her largest stitches that ran along from the center of her stomach to the side.

"Hey! What are you-" Nozomi began and tried to push her shirt down, but Killua held it up.

"It really hurts, doesn't it." He quietly asked as traced the cut with his finger.

"N-Not really. I bet the time you got shock by electricity is way worse." She stated with a nervous laugh at the end.

Her laughter stopped when Killua stared up at her with a serious expression. Slowly, she felt her body temperature rise, but she had no idea why.

"I thought you died as well..." He whispered as he turned his attention back to the girl's injuries. "Don't scary me like that ever again..."

"...What?"

Killua's eyes widened then jumped away.

"Nothing! I said don't scare us like that ever again" He explained, emphasizing 'us.' "By the way, you can have this back now."

He buckled the silver bracelet around the girl's wrist as he explained that he talked to Ike and the man said that he didn't know how to open the locket but Nozomi's mother seemed to have treasured the bracelet a lot, so he thought that there might be something valuable inside.

"I see... Thank you Killua."

* * *

July 11, 12:00 A.M.

With her combat rucksack on her back, Nozomi headed towards the door. Before opening it, she glanced back at the innocent sleeping faces of Killua and Gon. She had everything that she owned in her bag and she had already prepared a note for the two boys to notify them that she will not be joining them to visit Gon's family, but she still felt like there was something holding her back.

_"Did I forget something?"_

In her heart, she found herself longing to go back to the two sleeping boys and stay with them. However, she never listened to her heart. Was it a good thing or a bad thing to listen to her brain instead? That is a question that she could not answer.

Nozomi pulled her hood over her eyes and opened the door.

"Goodbye Killua and Gon... The next time we see each other we will most likely be enemies."

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**I hope you all like this chapter and please review.**

**Also I would like to ask all my readers a question. Should I make another OC just for Gon? **

**There will still be some love triangles and stuff, but I was just wondering. If anyone does what another OC can you please PM or leave a message on the review for me and if you have a preference for their personality please let me know too.**

**Thank you!**


	16. Reunion

**I rewrote the ending so, I hope you all like this ending better.**

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Chapter 16

Reunion

Nozomi shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to fix her skirt, which she received as a present for her thirteenth birthday on the 30th of August. While doing so, she caught sight of her shortened life line on her palm, reminding her about the deal she made with Hisoka.

"Nozomi!"

The girl glanced over to the voice to see a handsome young man approaching. He wore a blue blazer with his black hair hanging down naturally and a bangdage wrapped across his forehead. Beside the man, was a pink hair teen whose eyes lit up instantly to the sight of the young girl.

_"Oh! Master's here with the fortune teller girl. I believe her name is Neon Nostrade." _Nozomi thought as she welcomed the two over to the table with a smile.

Before she could utter a single word, the teen slipped into the seat beside her and cupped her cheeks as the teen stared into her amber eyes.

"Wow! Your eyes are as pretty as those scarlet eyes I want father to buy for me." Neon enthusiastically stated.

"Thank you very much miss." Nozomi replied, trying not to be awkward, then turned to her master, "Father, I asked some people and they said that we still have some time before the objects of the auction begin to be shown."

Her master nodded and ordered a few drinks before questioning Neon about her fortune telling abilities.

"Woah! Cool! Can you do it for me too?" Her Master asked.

Neon agreed and handed him a piece of paper, telling him to write down his full name, date of birth, and blood type. The teen handed Nozomi a piece of paper, which the girl gladly accepted.

"Chrollo Lucilfer. Twenty six years old? You're a lot older than me and your name isn't very common." Said Neon as she read the paper that Nozomi's master filled out.

"My friends call me 'Boss.'" Chrollo responded

"Hahaha! That's no better!" Neon happily responded, "Next is yours... Nozomi Lucilfer. Thirteen years old and your blood type is AB."

"Yup." Nozomi chirped

Neon smiled and raised her pencil up in the air. "I'm starting."

A violet ghost with big lips took hold of the teen's hand and as if she was possessed, the girl was zoned out as she scribbled on the paper in a rapid pace. Once she finished, both Chrollo and Nozomi took their piece of paper and read it. Unfortunately for Nozomi, she was unable to read her fortune because she was distracted by the sight of her "father" crying.

"In these sentences, there's a passage on the souvenir of death. Do you believe in the existence of a world after death?" the man questioned

"Hm... No, not really." Neon answered and continued on explaining that he should not find comfort with spirits, but within himself. Durning the girl's explanation, Chrollo took Nozomi's paper to read later.

Returning to the conversation, Chrollo nodded as he started to walk beside the teen, "Evidently. That's probably true, but I do not have to worry about death yet."

He glanced over at the thirteen year old girl who was walking on the other side of Neon and her hand trapped in the teen's tight grip. He and Neon continued talking about life and death as they walked down the halls. Meanwhile, Nozomi listened to their conversation for some sort of sign.

"I... Believe in the existence of souls. That's why, for the one who left us, I want to do everything he would have like to do." Chrollo stated and Neon asked what he meant.

The man kept silent and within seconds, Neon started to fall to the ground. But before she met the floor, Nozomi caught her.

_"It's beginning."_

* * *

"Hahaha! You two..." A man in a classic japanese style robe laughed aloud as he sat on the floor of the windowless room, watching the green clad boy and silver hair boy arguing. "You're funny... But don't do anything stupid and stay quiet. I-"

The man cut his sentence short when black flames bursted in the center of the room. The two boys leapt back, while the man jumped up to his feet and withdrew his sword, swinging at the flames. The flames soon dispersed and revealed a short hooded figure who stopped the sword with a single crimson dagger.

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Nobunaga-san." The person sarcastically greeted.

Crimson liquid dripped off their bruised skin. Recognizing the person, Nobunaga relaxed and placed his sword back into its sheath before sitting down again.

"Did Boss come back with you..." He trailed off when the hooded person tiredly pushed off the hood, revealing their short dark hair and amber eyes. "Nozomi."

"Wha?!"

Nozomi's eyes widened to the familiar sound of the voice behind her. Cautiously, she slowly turned around to see the very two people who she did not want to see her with the Ryodan. Killua and Gon.

"Nobunaga-san... Why are they here?" Nozomi questioned, completely forgetting about her exhaustion and lack of blood.

"I want the Boss to test them and make them join the Ryodan. So, did he come with you?"

"No, he sent me back after holding back Zeno and Silva Zoldyck long enough for him to deal with them. Also, this is for you." The girl pulled out a note from her hoodie pocket and handed it to the man. "Apparently in my fortune, I am a traitor... Or that's what father said."

Nobunaga was confused by her statement, but he read it anyway and his confusion transformed to anger.

"You... Are you one the chain-guy's side?" He mostly demanded than asked.

"I don't know who this 'chain-guy' is, but I guess the only way you can find out if I'm telling the truth or not is when Pakunoda returns." Nozomi answered, "For now, I need rest."

Nobunaga pointed at the other side of the room to where to two boys were sitting before, telling her to stay there. With a sigh, the girl followed his instructions and slumped down on the ground, releasing an inaudible grunt when she moved her joints. Hesitantly, the two boys sat down on either side of her.

"Is that really you, Nozomi?" Gon whispered and the girl faintly bobbed her head.

"Why did you leave us at the Heaven arena and why are you here with the Ryodan?" Killua angrily asked

Nozomi glanced up at Killua to lock eyes with his angered yet concerned gaze. Her lips slightly parted for a moment but her mouth sealed shut and broke the gaze. Black dots slowly invaded her vision and she felt her body growing numb.

"...Sorry..."

With that apology, Nozomi passed out. Meanwhile, the boys looked back at each other with determination in their eyes. They both got up to their feet and released their Nen.

"Are you serious? You'll only find death!" Nobunaga angrily stated, "Neither of you are skilled enough to stop my sword."

The two boys ignored him and kicked through the walls. Seeing that the way that Gon went was further away from the stairs, Nobunaga chased after him, leaving the unconcious girl alone in the room.

After waiting a few minutes, Killua quietly returned to the room and carefully picked the limp girl off the ground. At last, he was able to get a better look at his once-missing friend. Her skin was pale and eyes were closed shut, but even in her sleep she seemed tormented. The boy freed one of his hands to brush Nozomi's bangs out of her face. However, once he did that, he revealed the spider tattoo on her forehead.

"You really are a idiot." He muttered under his breath, but he gently pressed his lips on her tattooed forehead. Once parting, he noticed that Nozomi's expression seemed to have softened. He stared at her pink lips for a moment before lower his head and met his lips with hers.

"Killua! Are you here?" Gon abruptly shouted from the outside.

His voice caused Killua to snap back into reality. A large blush made it's way up to Killua's cheeks, but he ignored it and quickly walked out of the room with Nozomi still held in his arms.

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**I'm going to end it here. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well and please continue reading. Also please review. :)**


	17. September 4th

Chapter 17

September 4th

"Where am I?"

Nozomi stood within the darkness, alone. Cold, weary, and confused of her location. She was only dressed in a makeshift shirt and shorts, both entirely made of thin rags. Despite the fact that she had no idea why she was dressed that way, she could not help but wonder why her clothes looked similar to what she wore when she was a child. Cautiously, she shuffled a few feet forward and used her bare feet to feel the ground.

"It's not soil... Is it tiles?... No... concrete?" She asked herself, rubbing her feet on the ice cold ground.

A sudden chill ran up the girl's spine, making her to rub her bare arms in hopes of getting rid of the goose bumps that risen up on her skin.

_"I have to get out of here."_

With that thought she roamed around. Blinded by the pitch black surroundings, she set her arms out in front of her to find some sort of wall. She had been walking for hours only to find nothing. Little did she know, she was wandering within darkness itself.

"Nozomi..." A feminine voice echoed in the darkness.

The girl snapped her attention towards the voice, "Who's there?"

A soft sound of footsteps appeared behind her, but she continued to stare at the other direction.

"Nozomi, come home." At last the girl turned around to see Chrollo standing a few feet behind her with his arms open. "Come home to your father."

Nozomi froze in fear. However, with a twitch of the man's fingers, Nozomi's body started moving on its own as if the man was controlling her with invisible strings.

"Don't go with him." The feminine voice announced, "He's just using you!"

The girl's legs stopped moving as she tried to regain control of her body and forced her head to turn to the voice. Behind her was a young woman around the same age as Chrollo. She had long dark hair, dressed in a pure white dress, and her face was blurred to the child but she seemed to glow in the darkness, as if she was the only light source.

"Who... Who are you?" Nozomi asked

When the woman's red lips parted to answer, a pair of large hands clapped over her ears, effectively covering her eyes as well.

"It's too late. You're stuck with me forever."

* * *

"Ah!" Nozomi eyes snapped open and jerked up into a sitting position before grasping her gut in pain.

"Are you awake now, Nozomi?"

_"Huh?" _Nozomi slowly looked up to find a blonde teen's face looking up at her with a small smile.

"Kurapika! Long time no see." She greeted as she subconsciously brushed her bangs over her eyes. "What's going on?"

The four males looked at one another before explaining everything they had learned, including Chrollo's death and Kurapika's vow.

"I see... So, you guys think that there are only two-no three Ryodan members left and you believe that Pakunoda is the only threat, right?" Nozomi revised then looked at Kurapika's eyes. "Well, I'm sorry but the true situation is much worse."

"What do you mean?" Gon asked

"The Ryodan members do not die easily and father always have some trick up his sleeve."

"Father?!" Kurapika repeated

Nozomi nodded and got up to her feet, "You're in contact with Hisoka, right? He'll tell you the truth soon."

Before Kurapika could ask question her about her knowledge of the Ryodan, his phone buzzed. In one swift movement, the teen pulled out his phone and read the text. His face immediately grew pale and he stormed out of the room, with the others quickly following him.

_"Maybe I shouldn't have said so much." _Nozomi sighed

Her eyes darted around the room and landed on a window just big enough to fit a small teen. Solemnly, she slid open the window and began to crawl out when she felt someone grabbing her wrist.

"Killua?" She gasped, expecting that it was Kurapika who grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?" Killua demanded

Nozomi turned her gaze to the other side of the window, her eye were distant. "I'm leaving... It's best for all of us."

"..." Killua stared at Nozomi, "Is it because of the Ryodan?"

"They're coming for me and most likely Nobunaga would have told the others that you guys took me or I followed. If I stay with you and the others too long... You will all end up dead." Nozomi stated with a pained expression, "I should go now."

The girl tried to jump out of the window again when Killua yanked her away from the window, causing her to fall on top of the silver hair boy. Both of them stared at each other in shock and all of their blood rushed up their faces. However, Killua soon composed himself and tightened his grip on the girl's wrists.

"We'll take care of them if them come. So stay." He said, determination was evident in his expression.

"I-I can't. They're too strong for you all to handle." She lowered her head so her bangs could cover her watery eyes. "I don't want you to die."

"Nozomi..." Killua released one of his hands to wipe away a single tear that escaped from the girl's eye. "I won't die nor will the others."

Nozomi smiled and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. Her actions caused Killua to release his grip from shock. Taking this chance, she crawled out the window and jumped onto a nearby tree.

"Sorry Killua, I'm leaving and I can take care of myself."

With that, she leapt down to the ground and broke out running. Away from her friends who were still in the building and back to the hideout, where she will face her father and his team. She knew that her father would try to force her to tell him about her friends and force her to stay with him forever, but she is now determined to fight back even if her life was a payment to keep her friends safe and be free.

When she was far away from her friends, she isolated herself in an alley and called her father.

"Hello, Father? This is Nozomi."


End file.
